A new luxury 3D printing design label, Mesh–Mesh, has launched out of Egypt and it is making quite the statement with its first handbag collection, Alhambra. The eye-grabbing handbags, whose design is inspired by architectural features in the Alhambra palace in Granada, Spain, are available in a range of rich hues and are each 3D printed using a resin-based technology.
Mesh–Mesh was launched in August 2024 by sisters Fatma and Shaimaa El Alawy, who are combining their loves of historical architecture and advanced technologies in their luxury accessories. Even the label’s name has a dual meaning that straddles history and modernity. As the Egyptian sisters explain: “The name is derived from the ‘Mesh’ objects sculpted and edited in computer-aided design applications and materialized into physical objects using 3D printers. Mesh–Mesh also draws inspiration from the Egyptian proverb ‘في المشمش — Fe al-meshmesh”, the Arabic equivalent of ‘chasing rainbows’ and ‘building castles in the air.’…As a name, Mesh–Mesh emphasizes both its digital crafting dimension and the brand’s pursuit of creating playful, imaginative forms that are impossible to achieve using traditional manufacturing methods.”
The design duo’s first collection, Alhambra, was inspired by a visit to the Granada-based palace, one of the world’s most well known examples of Islamic architecture. More specifically, the handbag’s design draws on architectural details in the palace’s vaulted ceilings, known as muqarnas. In creating the handbag design, the duo used digital tools to capture an essence of the architectural feature and translate it into something functional, fashionable and contemporary.
The resulting design, 3D printed from resin materials and hand finished, resembles a pendant-like jewel, with an intricate structure consisting of columns, multi-foil arches and an eight-point star structure. The bag is notably transparent, which creates a light-catching, prismatic effect when worn. On Mesh–Mesh’s website, the label describes the handbag production process, saying: “During 3D printing, light cures the resin layer by layer, creating our designs one-tenth of a millimeter at a time. Slowly and with extreme precision, our bags emerge. Each bag is then hand-polished to full transparency, artistically painted, and its intricate details carefully inspected.”
The Alhambra handbag is currently available in 10 different colors, including emerald, lilac, pearl, acid yellow, astro black, amber and others. The purse is a luxury product and is thus retailing for the relatively high price of USD $780. The degree of thoughtfulness and design skill that has clearly gone into the 3D printed handbags make us excited to see what the young design label will come up with next.
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