Makerspace

What happens when 24 young fashion talents from 11 European universities encounter 3D printing, motion capture, CLO3D, and digital textile technologies? From August 31 to September 12, 2026, the Riga Makerspace will become a creative laboratory for the fashion of tomorrow. For two weeks, students will experiment with new materials and technologies, refine their designs, and transform digital ideas into real prototypes—and physical fashion into digital twins.

Whether through 3D printing, laser cutting, digital knitting, embroidery, or weaving, these young designers will work alongside international experts to explore the boundaries of technological and creative possibility. It is an international space for experimentation, exchange, and new ideas—a place where the lines between fashion, textiles, and technology blur, and the future of design takes shape.

Program Overview

  • CLO3D – Digital Fashion Design
  • Motion Capture – Fashion in Motion
  • 3D Printing – New Forms for Fashion and Accessories
  • Laser Cutting & Milling – Experimental Materials and Structures
  • Kniterate – Digital Knitting
  • Digital Embroidery
  • Semi-Automatic Weaving – Digital and Semi-Automatic Weaving
  • From Digital Design to Physical Prototype

Workshops & Technologies in Detail

CLO3D forms the digital foundation of the FashionTEX Makerspace in Riga. The software allows garments to be designed, adjusted, visualized, and further developed within a virtual environment.

During the residency, students deepen their existing skills and further develop their own designs, with a particular focus on materials, textures, lighting, and animation.

This process results in high-quality digital representations of the designs—ranging from virtual garments to animated presentations.
Working with CLO3D also enables students to digitally review and refine their designs before physical prototypes are created.

How does a digital garment behave when a person moves in it? Motion capture bridges the gap between virtual fashion and real human movement. Instead of relying solely on pre-set animations, natural and complex movement sequences can be transferred to digital avatars.

This allows students to explore how their virtual garments react to movement and how digital fashion can be presented in a more lifelike and realistic way.
AI-powered tools for creating and editing 3D animations also play a role in this process. Technologies that were highly complex and resource-intensive just a few years ago are becoming increasingly accessible to young designers.

Fashion need not be made exclusively from fabric. 3D printing opens up entirely new possibilities for students to develop shapes, materials, and structures. Items such as accessories, shoes, bracelets, and bags can be produced, as well as larger structural elements for garments.

Large-format 3D printers compatible with a variety of materials are available for this purpose at the Riga Makerspace, enabling the creation of objects up to 80 centimeters in size.

The combination of different materials is particularly exciting: printed structures can be combined with traditional fabrics and other materials. This blurs the boundaries between fashion, textile, and product design.

The Makerspace enables students to move beyond the traditional boundaries of fashion and textile design. Laser cutters and CNC milling machines allow for the processing of a wide range of materials—from acrylic and wood to aluminum and steel.

These technologies facilitate precise cuts, complex shapes, and experimental constructions that would be difficult or impossible to realize using traditional textile techniques.

Additionally, processes such as vacuum forming and bending expand the scope of design possibilities, allowing for the creation of three-dimensional forms and novel structures that can subsequently be combined with textiles or other materials.

Digital manufacturing and traditional textile craftsmanship converge directly in digital knitting.

Using Kniterate technology, students can digitally develop their own structures, patterns, and textile surfaces, and then produce them by machine.
Complex constructions and fully knitted garments are also possible. This transforms a digital design directly into a tangible textile product—bridging traditional knitting techniques with contemporary digital design processes.