Asher Levine Talks Creating 3D-Printed Costumes for Grimes, Jennie Kim in ‘Shinigami Eyes’
Asher Levine is lending his 3D-printing fashion design technique to Grimes’ new music video.
The fashion designer — who specializes in digital and high-tech practices — was tasked with creating the costumes for the musician’s “Shinigami Eyes” music video, which debuted today and features Blackpink K-pop singer Jennie Kim. Grimes is seen wearing a custom-made nude scale-print, lit-up bodysuit while Kim wears Levine’s Candy Moto Biker Jacket.
While Grimes’ look was custom-made, Levine had already been working on a version of the piece for his Tetra collection that debuted late last year.
“At the time, I was working on Tetra and it was this new style that blends the boundaries between digital and tangible fashion,” Levine explained. “The Tetra print is inspired by dragonfly wing architecture, so we did a computationally generated scale print and we customized it with a cool unique print.”
Levine worked closely with Grimes and her stylist, Brett Alan Nelson, to create the nude bodysuit. The designer used a virtual reality technology to create a hologram of the bodysuit to place over a scan of Grimes’ body to design the piece. He then used his signature 3D-printing technique to create the garment. Once the dragonfly motif was printed onto the piece, Levine assembled a light from inside so that the bodysuit could change colors throughout the music video.
Grimes, who is known for her futuristic, abstract style, is the latest celebrity to work with Levine. The designer has created 3D-printed garments for Lady Gaga, Lil Nas X and Doja Cat.
“I love when people come to me and they’re like, ‘let’s interpret the future. Let’s interpret artificial intelligence,’” Levine said. “I just love being the go-to designer for that. [Grimes and Nelson] let me run with it and she was like, ‘this is cool.’”
Levine also created the look for Kim in the music video, dressing the K-pop star in his Candy Moto Biker Jacket. The jacket was initially a concept piece for the Museum of Modern Art and wasn’t wearable until the “Shinigami Eyes” music video. Kim sports the first wearable prototype, which is made in a pink leather and includes shell light bulbs that change color.
The designer said he was inspired to create the piece after visiting the Thierry Mugler Couturissime exhibit in Montréal, taking inspiration from the late designer’s sculptural pieces.
Levine, who is traveling to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to present his latest collection, said his focus is on creating standout 3D and high-tech pieces rather than full collections that follow the fashion calendar.
“I was like, instead of doing all of these runway shows and all of these collections, which I’ve done for 10 years, let’s just focus that energy into a couple of pieces,” he said. “Just really focus on the innovation and everything that you can do. Showcase it and show everyone what fashion is for the century.”
Watch the music video here:
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