No matter the creative endeavor or craft, most artists share a common goal of breaking the boundaries set by their predecessors. 3D printing technology has enabled artists to shatter limitations and create physical work that was previously considered inconceivable.

Now, with additive manufacturing, intricate 3D models can be brought to life. We’ve seen numerous examples of how this has impacted the way that fashion and jewelry are thought about and ultimately produced. Lada Legina is an artist who has found an expansive space on the forefront of 3D printed fashion.

The Los Angeles-based artist’s work, inspired by the intricate patterns found throughout nature, all starts in her dreams and vivid imagination. When it came time to bring her ravishing and ornate fashion and jewelry designs to life, Legina turned to Craftcloud, the 3D printing service powered by All3DP, to help her find a professional manufacturer capable of producing her work the way she envisioned it.

We recently spoke to Legina about her artistic journey, her experimentation with 3D printing, working with Craftcloud and how her Ukrainian heritage helped conjure her creative spirit through a mesmerizing fashion top.

How Craftcloud Helped Lada Legina Bring Her Nature-Inspired Fashion and Jewelry to Life

Inspired by natural patterns and her own dreams, Legina has spent her artistic career creating mesmerizing pieces of jewelry and fashion pieces. Her work often resembles things you’d find in nature, such as flowers, petals, animals, and other organic objects that she describes as “bold.”

A quick look at Legina’s expansive website of exhilarating 3D designs will show an artist dedicated to breaking the rigid boundaries created by humanity, turning to nature as her source of inspiration. You can see this in each intricate top, pair of sunglasses, earrings, bracelets, rings, and much more.

“The answer is it is really simple because I am greatly influenced by all the things surrounding me, like colors and patterns of nature and nature itself,” she explained. “When you imagine it, then you can create it, and I like to create multilayered things that are in nature.”

The design process starts in her own thoughts and eventually makes its way onto 3D design software. Legina quickly learned how to create 3D models, but when it came time to bring her designs to reality, 3D printing presented itself as the obvious next step.

“As an artist, I always wanted to express myself. When I am imagining something, it is hard to express it differently than through making a computer-generated 3D model,” Legina said. “When you dream about something, you can do it easily, especially today with all these futuristic softwares.”

Recently, she had designed a large-scale, organically-inspired clothing top that she wanted to create. The size and intricacies of the model presented a challenge to Legina. Not only did the prototype have to fit on a model, it was designed with an array of intersecting horns that protrude from the design. She needed help finding a professional manufacturer that could create the top with the right technology and material.

And so, the Craftcloud team helped Legina produce her prototypes on a professional 3D printer using TPU material. The advantages of this rubbery material, in this specific case, included the flexibility, durability, and the wide range of shiny colors available. Previously, Legina had used SLS technology for its smooth surface and ability to be polished.

The artist also plans to use 3D printing technology to create the final project – and plans to touch base with Craftcloud when the time comes.

“The All3DP staff helped me to find a manufacturer, simple as that. We had a long communication with staff and long communication with the manufacturer,” Legina said. “With several pieces, the manufacturer said: ‘It is impossible to 3D print, we cannot do it’ – but in the end, we did it. I would like to continue to work with Craftcloud because they offer a lot of possibilities to me.”

Culture and Heritage Give Lada Legina Her Artistic Spirit

Though her art focuses on the beautiful aspects of nature, the Ukrainian-born Legina has had to face tremendous hardship due to the conflict taking place in her home country. A bulk of her family has been impacted by the ongoing war, and she is currently hosting her sister and her sister’s daughter in the United States.

The Ukrainian artist, who explained that her creative spirit stems from her heritage, moved to the United States around six years ago, right around the time she began exploring the potential of 3D printing. Legina credits her growth to her mother and modern art master, named Volodymyr Cherniavsky, both of whom were Ukrainian.

I think it is my Ukrainian spirit that gives me all my artistic things. My mom was very artistic, and I also was studying painting with a modern art master who was also Ukrainian,” she said. “He showed me how to use paint to communicate ideas and emotions and how to implement all these lines and colors to reflect things that surround us. At that time, I knew that I would be in art, or even in fashion.”

With her heritage and mentors at the top of mind, Legina continues to rethink how nature is used in the fashion and jewelry industry. Along with 3D design, she has found that 3D printing technology is the perfect tool to help bring her vivid dreams and earthly designs into reality.

You can see more of Legina’s work on her website here.