Van Herpen and her team worked with a 3D printing company called Stratasys to create the first look, and one called Materialise to make the second. Basically, these printers allow a variety of multi-textured materials to be used in a single design, creating a new sense of movement. “The incredible possibilities afforded by these new technologies," Oxman explained in a statement, "allowed us to reinterpret the tradition of couture as 'tech-couture' where delicate hand-made embroidery and needlework is replaced by code.”

This isn't entirely new territory for Van Herpen; she debuted 3D printing elements at Amsterdam Fashion Week in 2010 and her design for a 3D dress was named one of the 50 best inventions of 2011 by TIME. Her pieces represent a huge surge in what's possible, and even preferable, to create with this new technology. Which begs the question: what's going to happen to all that delicate hand-made needlework?