Sep 30, 2015 Kanye West has a way with words. He's not known for often, if ever, holding back on whatever thoughts cross his mind. In a recent episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, the musician-turned-self-proclaimed-designer had an interesting thing to say about 3D printers: He believes they will ruin the fashion industry. During a visit to the Tumo Centre for Creative Technologies in Yerevan, Armenia, Kanye was shown a 3D printer and said, "This is what I'm afraid of here, 3D printing, because the internet destroyed the music industry and now this is what we're afraid of right now with the textile industry." The school guide tried to defend the machine by telling him it doesn't print designs on its own, pointing out that you need someone to bring those to life in the first place. "Yeah. What I'm saying [is] there will come a time where it's, like, people are making the shoes at home," he replied. Kanye's point is interesting given that established designers like Karl Lagerfeld, the creative director of Chanel, used 3D printing to make one of the brand's fall 2015 women's suits -- which was described by The New York Times as "a little bit futuristic." Not just that, but instead of focusing on how these types of tools can also help up-and-coming designers (who don't have the backing of a major company like Adidas, as he does), Kanye seems to be worried about people only using them to create counterfeits and knockoffs. It's an understandable concern, sure, however that's been a problem since beforeconsumer-grade 3D printers even existed. There's an excerpt from the episode over at Gawker, if you're interested in watching it. http://www.engadget.com/2015/09/29/kanye-west-afraid-of-3d-printers/
Sep 30, 2015 I agree with a lot of things Kanye has to say, but this to me just screams of someone being out of his element. 3D Printing clothes/shoes is really far off to do it to the point where you go "why would I go out and spend money on a shoe, when i could 3D print it" there's what a minimum of 3 different materials in shoes (? rubber foam leather etc) so for each material, you've gotta stop and place those in the printer. not only that but 3D printers are really f---ing expensive. middle class people wouldn't buy a $4000 printer over say something like a car/tv/computer, just so they can put up with a pain in the a--- machine that CAN print shoes.
Sep 30, 2015 A decent printer cost like 800$, it's only a matter of time before they will start printing shoes and other stuff like that. Economists speak about a new industrial revolution incoming. Kanye isn't the Kanye anymore that speaks without thinking, his thought about the 3D printers was absolutely not dumb.
Sep 30, 2015 I get what you're saying but what Kanye said is dumb. It's still something that's far-off it's not a "matter of time" these printers take f---ing hours just to print something the size of your fist. Before any of these crazy industrial revolutions happen, 3D printers have to reach a point where they're a household object. Not only that, but it's still impractical for an average person to fire one up and start printing anything from home for a number of reasons. Kanye's saying these will destroy the fashion industry, when printing practical clothes is like next to impossible. They're printers, not stitching/folding/sewing machine all-in-one's (there's fashion designers out there that already have a "3D printed poncho") It's also dumb, because you need a digital 3D model to print from, like what, you gonna print a solid t-shirt out of plastic? I'm just saying, you wouldn't be able to print some piece of clothing that's actually wearable and practical without first going through a lot of creative hurdles and lots of time.
Sep 30, 2015 He's not dumb he's a very loose creative thinker.. he makes you doubt everything. Those people are INVALUABLE to our advancement. It got me thinking.. if we can make sewing machines and we can program computers.. why couldn't we program a 3D sewing/printing device that could stich and glue pieces of cloth together?
Sep 30, 2015 Think about at how fast smartphones our computers evolved. Taking a picture with your phone was something unimaginable 15 years ago, now there are professional photographs that work with phones.
Oct 9, 2015 Is making something on your own and bring creative about it ,something Kanye tells us his fans to do everyday? And I get it he doesn't like of people making counterfeits.of stuff like his shoes or something. But think of the next generation of artists who will use this to make the next big thing.
