Abstract

Additive manufacturing (AM) has emerged as a transformative technology in the fashion and textile industries, enabling unprecedented levels of design freedom, personalization, and on‑demand production. This paper explores the diverse applications of Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) in creating functional and aesthetic fashion items-from fully 3D‑printed footwear and flexible garments to rigid accessories and metal‑filled decorative pieces. Key material classes including Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU), Thermoplastic Elastomer (TPE), Nylon, PLA, and copper‑filled composites are examined in terms of printability, mechanical behavior, and application suitability. The study further highlights recent advancements in consumer 3D printing systems, particularly the integration of Automatic Material Switching (AMS) and multi‑nozzle technologies, which enable simultaneous printing of dissimilar materials (e.g., ABS with TPU) in a single seamless structure-a capability largely unexplored in existing literature. A case study on reproducing a complex Nike Jordan footwear model using TPU 90A on a Bambu Lab A1 printer (44 hours, ~$60 cost) demonstrates the economic and technical feasibility of distributed, domestic manufacturing of high‑value fashion goods. The paper concludes by identifying promising research directions, including systematic parametric studies of identical textile patterns across multiple materials and the development of multi‑material functional textiles with spatially graded mechanical properties.

Keywords: Additive Manufacturing; Fused Deposition Modeling; Fashion Technology; 3D Printed Footwear; Multi Material Printing; AMS; TPU; Functional Textiles