Jean Paul Gaultier Used 3D Printing for Five Haute Couture Looks

Additive manufacturing on the Paris runway

Jean Paul Gaultier's Fall/Winter 2026-2027 haute couture collection, which debuted in Paris in July, includes 3D printed components across five looks. The pieces were manufactured by Sculpteo, the French 3D printing service provider, using Multi Jet Fusion and selective laser sintering.

The collection marks creative director Duran Lantink's first haute couture show for the house. The AM elements range from a flexible sculpted bustier to thousands of individually printed scales and a hidden structural layer beneath a feather-covered dress.

TPU flexibility and PA12 precision

Look 7 features a bustier with an organic, deformed shape. Sculpteo produced the understructure in TPU using HP Multi Jet Fusion. The material's flexibility lets the garment move with the wearer, while the printing process allows curves that would be difficult to achieve with traditional patterning.

Look 19 takes a different approach entirely. Instead of one large part, Sculpteo printed thousands of individual scales in PA12 powder using SLS. Each scale was assembled by hand into a flexible surface that covers the body. The result moves like a single piece while maintaining the texture of articulated armor.

The hidden structure

Look 26 shows 3D printing in a supporting role. Sculpteo produced a flexible TPU lattice that gives shape to an elaborate pink feather dress. The feathers were added by Maison Fevrier, the Paris atelier that has worked with Dior and Hermes since 1929. In this case, the printed structure is mostly invisible. It holds the silhouette while the feathers create the finished look.

The collection demonstrates how established industrial processes can serve very different purposes in fashion. MJF and SLS are not new technologies, but applying them to couture deadlines and body-moving garments requires close collaboration between designers and manufacturing engineers.