When 3D printing comes to mind, many think of it as a newfound method to make metal parts or product prototypes. New York-based Simplifyber, on the other hand, has taken a different approach to using the advanced technology by creating biodegradable clothing and shoes.
“I saw how additive manufacturing (3D printing) was disrupting nearly every other industry, but not in fashion,” Maria Intscher-Owrang, Simplifyber co-founder and CEO, said in a statement. “I set out to find the people that could make this a reality.”
This week, Simplifyber pulled in $3.5 million in its seed funding round led by At One Ventures with participation from Techstars and others. Intscher-Owrang told Built In via email that funding will go toward building lab equipment, expanding materials and increasing the company’s product offerings. Additional funds will go toward hiring for four engineers and one business development leader.
Simplifyber’s technology replaces the sewing and cutting traditionally needed to make clothes, and instead replaces it with fully biodegradable materials that create clothes through 3D printing. The clothing can then be recycled as easily as paper, according to the company.
According to the company, its production process removes 60 percent of the steps it takes to create clothes and reduces 35 percent of materials that go to waste in the fashion.
“With its single-step process for clothing making, Simplifyber has the potential to beat the unit economics of polyester, becoming an economically and environmentally viable solution against plastic waste,” Laurie Menoud, a partner at At One Ventures, said in a statement. “We believe Simplifyber could be the apparel of the future.”
Intscher-Owrang brings a unique fashion background to the technological development of the company. Prior to founding Simplifyber, Intscher-Owrang worked for more than 20 years as a fashion designer and director at leading fashion houses like Vera Wang, Calvin Klein and Alexander McQueen.
“From the pure design side, I led the creative direction of our early products and will continue to do so,” Intscher-Owrang told Built In. “Simplifyber is not introducing a specific product or material, but rather a third new category of manufacturing that allows for a broad range of market application at the couture or ready-to-wear levels, and also at the mid-market and mass levels.”
