In the past, getting your hands on bespoke garments was prohibitively expensive. Now, advances in fashion production technology mean everyone can be an individual.

Whether it’s choosing the right shade of suit on Savile Row or adding a personalised mark to an otherwise generic accessory, customised clothing tends to come at a premium. But thanks to modern production techniques, which enable low-cost, small-scale production, personalised fashion is now an affordable possibility.

Pablo Holman is one innovator using such production methods. At Bombsheller, his Seattle-based company launched two months ago, customers can buy affordable customised spandex leggings. It is, Holman explains, part of a growing movement that puts the individual consumers at the heart of the experience. “I come from the high-tech industry,” Holman says. “I've worked in a lab inventing stuff for years. What's really exciting about 3D printing, which we use for our leggings, is that it’s totally programmable so that you can potentially make anything. No two things ever have to be the same.”

Personalised fashion is not only a business opportunity for us but also the opportunity to engage with customers. Bombsheller invites customers to design their own leggings – or choose from an extensive catalogue of previously made looks. To design a pair, they simply download a template from the Bombsheller website which can then be edited using Adobe Illustrator. A 3D rendering demonstrates how and where the designs will sit on their body. When finished, the design is added to the company's catalogue, alongside a price set by that customer. Each time another person buys one of their designs, the customer receives a royalty.