Imagine designing a shoe or handbag and knowing — down to the smallest detail — exactly how it will look before the concept leaves the studio. That’s the level of alignment that our team at Tapestry, Inc., the New York-based fashion house behind Coach, Kate Spade, and Stuart Weitzman, is achieving through industrial 3D printing.
Additive manufacturing (AM) and digital product creation processes — such as 3D modeling and visualization — are helping our team move from design intent to prototype with a greater degree of precision, often cutting costs by as much as 99%. The result is a faster, more cohesive product development process.
Reducing Time and Costs in the Prototyping Process
At Tapestry, we leverage 3D printing across multiple stages of product development. This includes early-phase concept development and late-stage product validation for all hard-good categories. Each day, our digital product creation team handles anywhere from five to 20 prototypes. Examples range from intricate jewelry and complex hardware mechanisms for handbags to full-color, multi-material scale footwear mockups, including outsoles and uppers.
Last year at RAPID + TCT, I gave a presentation on the Coach Spring 2023 Runway jelly bag that our team prototyped internally. For this project, our designers wanted to see five different variations of the bag so they could reach a consensus before moving into the production phase.
By utilizing our in-house AM capabilities, Tapestry reduced prototyping costs by 99.17%, cutting expenses from around $15,000 to just $123.88 per iteration while completing prototypes in days instead of weeks. This return on investment (ROI) led to widespread adoption of the product across Coach’s runway, retail, and outlet lines.
Facilitating Clearer Decision-Making
Another area where we’ve successfully deployed AM is footwear. Traditional footwear manufacturers take between seven and nine weeks to produce a sample. In contrast, our digital product creation team at Tapestry can utilize 3D modeling, 3D visualization, and 3D printing to create a prototype in under a week.
Of course, due to the limitations of 3D printing technologies and the rigidity of the materials available today, AM-produced prototypes can’t replace the role that conventional samples play in fittings. That’s why it’s crucial to leverage the technology as early as possible in the product development cycle — at the stage where it can have the most impact.
By using additive technology to refine prototypes before sending them to off-site fabricators, we can help our designers make timely adjustments, optimize products, and approve iterations faster. This can help to eliminate costly errors and facilitate clearer decision-making, all while reducing reliance on expensive and time-intensive processes like mold fabrication.
Aligning Expectations With Reality
As an industry, we are still in the early phases of adoption, and there are significant challenges to overcome. Historically, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have advertised 3D printing machines as “easy to use,” leading to a disconnect between those who approve the investment and those who actually operate the equipment.
In reality, achieving results with AM requires a deep knowledge of the technology, material characteristics, machine calibration and maintenance, design for AM (DfAM), file optimization, and post-processing. Simply put, it isn’t just about purchasing the equipment but understanding how the technology can be applied at scale to make a meaningful impact. When companies fail to grasp this, the machines go underutilized, and the anticipated ROI falls short.
Another issue is the environmental impact of AM. Sustainability has become increasingly important for both companies and consumers. While 3D printing is often touted as an eco-friendly technology, it is primarily used to generate single-use plastics. To address this, OEMs will need to step up and work with municipalities to establish systems capable of managing the waste their printers produce.
Reframing Technology as an Enabler of Creativity
Perhaps the biggest challenge for the fashion industry, though, is overcoming pre-conceptions about additive technologies. Luxury fashion is built on desire, scarcity, and craftsmanship. Too often, technology is viewed as being at odds with these principles. To move beyond this, we must change the narrative, reframing technology as a powerful enabler of creativity and a foundation for quality.
For instance, a few years ago, we rebuilt our workspace within Coach’s leather-making workshop in New York City after outgrowing our previous facilities. This gave me the opportunity to rebrand our team from the “3D Printing Lab” to the “3D Print Studio.” This small but significant shift aligned our language more closely with that of designers and other creatives, emphasizing our role as collaborators in the product creation process.
Challenging established beliefs about technology’s role in luxury fashion will take time. However, as more fashion brands make use of AM, it is becoming increasingly clear that it can complement and enhance traditional fabrication processes. As the fashion sector comes around to the benefits of 3D printing, the technology’s influence on the product development cycle will only grow, inspiring new possibilities for creativity and craftsmanship.
Tomer Emmar is the Rapid Prototyping Manager, 3D Print Studio at Tapestry, Inc. A hands-on and tactical leader, he has over eight years of experience advancing product development and design innovation, cross-functional collaboration, and rapid prototyping capabilities in the fashion industry. He will present a session on “Strategic and Practical Tactics to Increase the Relevance of 3D Printing in Fashion Companies” at RAPID + TCT 2025.