At the prestigious Icona d’Or 2024 awards ceremony in Paris, Julia Nojac, President of FESPA France, wore a one-of-a-kind, eye-catching dress. In fact, this dress was the result of a successful collaboration, featuring an all-female team that combined the creativity of artists, the expertise and accuracy of technology experts and the ingenuity of Mimaki’s advanced digital printing.

Under the creative and technical direction of FESPA France and Mimaki, a team of artists and professionals helped turn an idea into a unique evening dress. The iconic print design was created by Madrid-based visual artist Kinda Youssef and, with the expertise of Rosanne Kooijman, Mimaki's youngest female application specialist, the print was turned into a vibrant, detailed fabric. The elegant tailoring, done by French couturier Cécile Derouin, brought the dress to life.

Current trends, that see self-expression, high levels of personalisation and the desire to stand out of the crowd more important than ever, mean that advanced printing technology plays an increasingly more important role in this industry. Leveraging Mimaki’s inkjet printing, designers and creators are now able to explore new application opportunities that were not accessible before. Not only can they achieve high levels of customisation, but also, they can start from an idea on paper and get their final unique item through a process that is accessible, easy-to-handle and yet top-level in terms of quality.

Talking technology, the Mimaki TS330-1600 dye sublimation inkjet printer served as the backbone of this creative project. The machine delivers on-demand printing with high-quality results, enabling the efficient production of the unique, one-off dress with minimal waste compared to conventional printing methods. Once again, with this successful partnership with FESPA France, Mimaki demonstrates how technology can be applied towards excellence in creativity.

Arguably, this dress marks an outstanding example of what young professionals coming from various sectors and areas of expertise are capable of doing to push the boundaries of creativity using print. It also is a fantastic achievement in the application of personalisation in digital printing, furthering Mimaki’s vision of high-quality capabilities for universal application.