Success of European cooperation: Designer-led innovation benefits EU industry

Inspired by the pioneer of haute couture, Charles F. Worth, the Worth pilot project has set up partnerships between designers and SMEs from fashion-led industries. By combining technological advances with design creativity, Worth partnerships are leading the way to a new wave of innovative products and services.

In a partnership joining a jewellery designer and a 3D printing manufacturer, the Worth project has supported the first ever 3D printing to be done using gold. With mentorship from the European Commission’s project partner ‘Institut Français de la Mode’, designer Samuel Gassmann teamed up with a 3D printing company to print a gold “twin ring”, the craftsmanship for which has been lost since the 19^th Century. This elaborate wedding band design is formed from two intertwined rings, which open up to expose the hidden engravings within. This style had been lost as the craft died out and its production was no longer commercially viable. With 3D printing, however, it has once more become possible to produce these complex wedding bands. The first ever printed 3D gold ring was launched in a Parisian jewellery boutique on Valentine’s Day 2015.

Technology-driven design innovation

In a UK-Denmark partnership brought together by Worth, engineers Tim Antos and Richard Hall have developed premium headphones to help restless sleepers. The technologically intricate product has been developed to not only cancel out noise but also to use brain sensing technology (EEG) to assist the user in achieving better and more relaxing sleep. For example, the in-built technology analyses brain activity to identify the perfect moment for gentle wake-up music. Far from neglecting the aesthetic dimension, Tim and Richard have taken great care to create a pleasing visual element for their product, including their own fabric covering for the headphones’ ear pieces.

New designs for conscious consumers

Dutch designers developed a technique of glueing jeans, instead of sewing them: in 2008 they won the Dutch Design Award for their first pair of gluejeans. In the framework of Worth they work with a Belgian Textile Research Centre and a German manufacturer of sewing machines on an industrial technique of adhesive application using hot melts. This is a sustainable method, where no water and no solvents are used. Additionally, they will test the use of bio-based hot melts, where traditional, petroleum-based materials are replaced by renewable ones.

New materials for socially inclusive fashion

A leading French producer of 3D printers has formed a Worth partnership with Ana Rajcevic, a UK-based designer. Together with the Germany-based organisation Smart-Fit-In (which seeks to enable innovative products for people with and without mobility) this Worth project aims to design and put into action a collection of 3D-printed “Prosthetic Accessories”. The “one size fits all” approach to prosthetics becoming increasingly outdated, the team is convinced that a person’s disability should not hold them back from expressing their personal style and taste.

Supporting innovation

Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs is proud to present these projects and countless others that have resulted from the pilot project phase of the Worth network. They illustrate the great benefits to be derived from supporting the creativity and innovation of the citizens of Europe and enabling them to work across borders and industries. Working closely with the Institut Français de la Mode (IFM), the London College of Fashion’s Centre for Fashion Enterprise (CFE) and in partnership with Euratex, the Worth project has generated a number of truly forward-thinking projects. Like its namesake, the Worth pilot project has captured the pioneering spirit – and in the process broken new ground for collaborations in design-based industries and boosted innovation in Europe to help creativity flourish.

More information