New technologies mean the design process is becoming akin to “creating a Hollywood film,” says designer Francis Bitonti, who created a seamless 3D-printed dress for burlesque dancer Dita von Teese. Speaking about the development of the dress at the Wearable Futures conference in London, Bitonti says that developments in computer-based design and 3D printing mean that designers are no longer limited by their knowledge of materials. “The separation between what you can simulate and what you can physically model is gone”, claims Bitonti, founder of New York luxury fashion studio Francis Bitonti Studio.