Fashion Goes Digital at the Third Annual Epson Digital Couture Project Event

Designs by Leonardo Mena

Designs by Leonardo Mena

Designs by Leonardo Mena

Designs by Leonardo Mena

Designs by Leonardo Mena

Designs by Leonardo Mena

9. Mexico – Leonardo Mena: Born in Purisima del Rincon, Leonardo Mena is the ninth of 12 kids born to Maria del Carmen Mena and Ramon Lopez, a humble couple from Jalisco. From the age of four, Leonardo has maintained a love for art, one that initially took him from painting in children’s contests to fashion, dressing up his friends’ Barbie dolls, turning little pieces of fabric into dresses. When he was 10, his parents signed him up for drawing lessons where he showcased his talent. At 11, he won his first municipal prize with a painting called “Eva en el paraíso.” This filled him with motivation, and he has kept practicing and improving his creations.

Designs by Susan Wagner

Designs by Susan Wagner

Designs by Susan Wagner

Designs by Susan Wagner

Designs by Susan Wagner

10. Peru – Susan Wagner: Susan Wagner’s design work started by reclaiming and updating traditional Peruvian embroidery techniques. In 2005, she created her own brand that linked popular art with designs using traditional, modern and alternative materials. In her collections, she prioritizes the use of natural Peruvian fibers and recycled materials, as well as organic inks and limited-edition prints. She has participated in events and art exhibitions such as Perú Moda, Lima’s Fashion Week, Paris’s Ethical Fashion Show and she has had a stand in Paris’s Prêt-à-Porter. Her work was presented in Madrid’s 2010 Bienal Iberoamericana de Diseño, and she has collaborated with the Spanish brand Cuso Barcelonaand well as museums such as Museo Larco and MATE Museo Mario Testino in Lima.

Designs by Degen

Designs by Degen

Designs by Degen

Designs by Degen

Designs by Degen

Designs by Degen

Designs by Degen

11. United States – Lindsay Degen: Lindsay Degen began creating her quirky knits at the age of 13, when her grandmother gave her a set of knitting needles and taught her how to stitch. Lindsay attended the Rhode Island School of Design, as well as Central Saint Martins in London. After graduating, she moved to New York City to create DEGEN, her crafty, concept-based collections. She has gone on to design and produce an entire section of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, collaborate with Converse and My Little Pony, be named to Forbes "30 under 30," begin a baby line and, most recently, become a knitting professor at Parsons School of Design.

Designs by Sarah Richards

Designs by Sarah Richards

Designs by Sarah Richards

Designs by Sarah Richards

Designs by Sarah Richards

Designs by Sarah Richards

Designs by Sarah Richards

Designs by Sarah Richards

12. United States – Sarah Richards: Designer Sarah Richards was born and raised in Manhattan. She attended the Rhode Island School of Design, focusing on apparel and textile design. Her brand, RICHARDS, is a clothing line conceptualized and designed in her Brooklyn studio and produced in New York City. Founded in 2012, her brand offers contemporary staples for men and women, cut exclusively from prints designed by Sarah.

Designs by Mark Sunderland

Designs by Mark Sunderland

Designs by Mark Sunderland

Designs by Mark Sunderland

13. United States – Kanbar College of Design Engineering and Commerce, Philadelphia University: Mark A. Sunderland is Textile Engineer+Strategist and Robert J. Reichlin High-Performance Apparel Chair. He is also the team director for the Philadelphia University collection featured in Epson’s Digital Couture Project. He has over 30 years of experience in the field of engineered advance textile materials, apparel products, commerce and operations, and has produced fabrics and apparel for the advance fabric performance and fashion apparel retail market, working with nationally recognized brands and labels.

“For the third year in a row, the Epson Digital Couture event showcases how digital textile printing helps designers expand their vision for creativity without limits,” says Agustin Chacon, Epson America’s vice president of international marketing. “The future of fashion and technology is in the process of being shaped, and we are excited to be at the forefront of the industry – providing designers with printing solutions that offer a host of new and exciting opportunities.”

Epson’s Digital Textile Printing Solutions
Epson’s dye-sublimation and direct-to-garment printing technologies allow entrepreneurs and established fashion brands to print on a variety of fabrics in real-time, including cotton and synthetic fibers.

The Epson SureColor F-Series dye-sublimation printing technology provides designers an accessible means to bring their ideas and inspiration to life with unsurpassable quality. The SureColor F-Series leverage Epson UltraChrome DS ink with an all new high density Black ink to deliver black density with better tonal transitions and grayscale, plus rich colors and smooth gradations onto fabric. Including a Wasatch SoftRIP workflow with specialty features for textile and fashion printing, the SureColor F-Series enables designers to create and print original designs with greater flexibility and control.

The Epson SureColor F2000 Series direct-to-garment (DTG) ink jet printers deliver industrial-level production, image quality, and reliability. With the ability to print directly onto garments ranging from 100 percent cotton to 50/50 fabric blends, the SureColor F2000 offers fashion entrepreneurs a quality, affordable printing solution. The Epson SureColor F2000 Standard Edition is a high-speed CMYK-only model and the White Edition offers the added benefit of white ink for printing on dark or color fabrics.

Robustelli, part of the Epson Group, specializes in the development, manufacture, and sale of digital inkjet textile printers, notably the Monna Lisa series, which it began developing with Epson in 2003. This product has established a strong brand image by providing beautiful gradations and color reproduction. Robustelli augments the acquisition of For.Tex, also of Como, Italy – a trusted provider of dyes, thickeners and treatment agents for printing, which joined the Epson Group in 2015. In bringing aboard these companies, Epson has established the Textile Solution Center in Como, Italy, a city that is transforming itself from a traditional silk-making center to one that is leading the charge of state-of-the-art technology in fashion.

For more information about Digital Couture, visit www.epson.com/nyfw.