Process

Ideation & sketches

Ingabo-Inspired Menswear Accessories

My project idea is to create buttons, ornaments, and accessories through 3D printing, treating them as meaningful design elements rather than simple additions. Rooted in SESONGA, the designs are inspired by Rwandan culture and the wider East African region, translating cultural symbols, forms, and stories into contemporary, digitally fabricated details. The goal is to create unique accessories that cannot be mass-produced, with each piece custom-made to respond to the individual client, garment, and occasion. By combining cultural inspiration, traditional tailoring, and digital technology, the project celebrates identity while offering a personalized and modern expression of craftsmanship.

In this collection, I aim to design a series of 3D-printed buttons inspired by the Ingabo, the traditional Rwandan shield that symbolizes protection, strength, and identity. Drawing from the shield’s distinctive circular form, layered structure, and geometric patterns, I translate its cultural significance into contemporary functional details for garments. By reinterpreting the Ingabo through digital modeling and additive manufacturing, these buttons become more than fastening elements—they act as cultural markers embedded in modern fashion. This approach allows me to preserve and celebrate Rwandan heritage while adapting it to innovative production methods, aligning the collection with my broader vision of merging tradition, technology, and craftsmanship.

These 3D-printed elements are designed to function either as cufflinks for formal shirts or as standard buttons for shirts and suits in menswear, offering versatility within the collection. By adapting the design to different garment uses, the pieces can move seamlessly from everyday professional wear to more formal occasions. Each button or cufflink maintains a strong visual connection to the Ingabo inspiration, while its scale, finish, and attachment are adjusted to suit its specific function. This flexibility allows the collection to respond to the needs of modern men’s wardrobes, where cultural meaning, elegance, and practicality coexist, and reinforces the idea that traditional symbols can be integrated naturally into contemporary fashion.

Bridal & Ceremonial Ornaments

This Fabricademy project focuses on designing custom-made bridal and ceremonial ornaments for women, created as either body-worn accessories or integrated elements of a dress. The work explores how digital fabrication and material experimentation can produce lightweight, customizable pieces that go beyond decoration to express identity, transition, and celebration. The project bridges traditional ceremonial values with contemporary design and fabrication methods, positioning bridal accessories as meaningful, modern artifacts.

Design & Fabrication

The design phase began with the creation of three initial accessory prototypes developed as exploratory trials.

I used Tripo 3D AI as a generative design tool, working with text-based prompts to translate conceptual ideas into 3D forms. The prompts focused on creating a bridal lace–inspired tiara and a jewelry accessory intended to complement and enhance a dress, particularly within a ceremonial or bridal context.This AI-assisted approach allowed for rapid form exploration, helping me test ornament density, lace-like structures, and overall proportions before moving into detailed digital refinement. These early trials were essential for understanding how AI-generated geometry can be adapted, cleaned, and optimized for digital fabrication and 3D printing, bridging conceptual design and material realization.

Prototyping

I started prototyping by exporting my designs as STL files ensuring compatibility with additive manufacturing workflows. The files were imported into the Creality slicing software, where they were prepared for 3D printing.

In the slicer, I adjusted basic settings such as size, orientation, supports, and layer height,The software then converted the models into G-code, which the 3D printer uses to print the accessories.

This process allowed me to create first physical tests to check form, scale, and overall appearance before further refinement.

My first two prototypes failed during the printing process because the models were not properly oriented on the print bed, which caused stability issues and poor layer adhesion. The pieces were designed in a way that required complex angles and supports, and as a result they did not print flat on the build plate. This affected the overall quality and structural integrity of the prints.

After identifying the issue, I redesigned the accessories to be printed flat on the print bed. Printing flat improves bed adhesion, reduces the need for supports, and increases the chances of a successful print. Through this process, I created new design variations that maintain the aesthetic while improving printability.

PROTOTYPE 1 (NECKLACE)

prompt i used in tripo3d ai

Flat neckless, soft romantic style with flowing oval silhouette, lace-inspired cutout pattern without texture, thin flexible sheet designed for heat shaping around arm, small attachment holes for beads and chains, minimalist couture accessory base, matte white material, uniform thickness, optimized for flat printing, clean topology, isolated object, studio lighting, highly detailed 3D model, thin sheet thickness 1–2 mm, flexible printable structure, no fragile details, no extreme overhangs

PROTOTYPE 2 (BELT)

prompt i used in tripo3d ai

Ornamental bridal belt applique inspired by delicate lace patterns, intricate floral filigree, elegant symmetrical design, lightweight decorative structure, flat surface suitable for 3D printing, refined bridal aesthetic, white ornamental accessory for a wedding dress, detailed lace-like texture, graceful and feminine design.

PROTOTYPE 3 (TIARA)

prompt i used in tripo3d ai

Ornate gothic bridal crown with intricate floral lattice patterns and decorative metalwork, elegant symmetrical tiara design, detailed ornamental structure inspired by gothic architecture, delicate filigree elements, lightweight yet refined form, white or silver finish, designed as a wearable bridal headpiece, highly detailed, suitable for 3D printing

PROTOTYPE 4 (head pin)

propmpt used in tripo3d ai

Ornate ceremonial sword with a crown-inspired hilt, intricate royal detailing, decorative metalwork, elegant symmetrical design, hanging gem-like pendants attached to the guard, luxurious and regal aesthetic, inspired by royal artifacts and ceremonial objects, highly detailed ornamental structure, suitable for a 3D model with refined textures and balanced proportions.

Mentoring notes

Mentors in all sessions may share with you their comments, notes, advise, projects and technical equipment to check out. This is good place to share those, so that you can find them later on when you need them the most!

Half-fabrication files

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1. Test file: 3d modelling test ↩