1960s space age fashion
The popularity of go-go boots began in 1964, with their fluorescent colours and shiny material reference futuristic trends. In addition, the use of new materials lead to the creation of major 60s fashion trends. Even designing costumes for the 1968 cult classic Barbarella, Rabanne was one of pioneering designers for 60s space-age fashion. The minidress a-line silhouette directly contrasted from the hourglass shape of Dior’s new look.ĭesigners like Paco Rabanne were experimenting with new materials, using metal and plastic to create dresses reminiscent of chainmail and armour. Fashion became more functional and affordable (compared to visual focus of the fashion in the 50s), leading to garments made from jersey, tweed and flannel. In terms of the fashion of the 60s, the aftermath of the war created a breakdown of the old British social order, leading the way for the rise of the middle class.
In terms of progression, fashion has always moved towards form-fitting garments and absence of fabric to show skin, which is typically why all futuristic works of art lean towards liberation of the body through fashion. That same year, Alpha Industries came out with a silver-toned MA-1 Tight Apollo jacket with a NASA emblem in the chest area, and in 2018 a NASA and Vans collaboration included a slip-on that came in colors such as “Galaxy/Black” with removable American flag patches.Inspired by the works of Mary Quant, Paco Rabanne and Pierre Cardin, the overall style of 1960s sci-fi fashion combines a futuristic look towards the future as well as the natural progression of fashion. The theme was “Some journeys change mankind forever.”Ĭhanel’s Fall 2017 show was simply out of this world with Karl Lagerfeld’s homage to all things Space Age, including the creation of a space station inside Paris’ Grand Palais, models in space shawls, galactic prints and spacesuit-print dresses walking to Elton John’s “Rocket Man.”
1960S SPACE AGE FASHION FULL
Those fashion pieces include the Apollo 3 dress shirt.įor the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11’s July 20, 1969, moon landing, Louis Vuitton launched a summer ad campaign for its luggage that featured Apollo 11 lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin Sally Ride, the first woman in space and Apollo 13 pilot Jim Lovell gazing up at the night sky and a bright full moon from the back of a pickup truck. Ministry of Supply, a Boston-based men’s and women’s business fashion brand founded in 2012, uses the same temperature-regulating material as in the clothing of NASA astronauts.
The Moon Boot became popular in the years after the moon walk and is constructed with a thin rubber outsole and cellular rubber midsole covered by nylon fabrics and using polyurethane foams. Giancarlo Zanatta, who founded Moon Boot, a snow boot brand started in 1969, has said his inspiration for the shape and technology of the original boot came after watching the Apollo 11 lunar landing and seeing the astronauts’ boots. Rabanne designed some of the Barbarella looks for that film.įast forward to today and Space Age-inspired fashion is still sending a galaxy of designers and brands into orbit, including Givenchy, Balmain, Rodarte, Armani Prive, Carolina Herrera, Alexander Wang and Thierry Mugler.
“They used shiny materials, metals, clean looks … taking their cues from space movies like ‘Barbarella’ and ‘2001: A Space Odyssey.’ ”
1960S SPACE AGE FASHION MOD
She added that the British, led by designer Mary Quant (a main figure in the 1960s London-based Mod fashion movement), were now looking for ways to wed the quality of couture with something that not only looked new, but was futuristic.įrench designers went far out by adopting “almost a Hollywood version” of futuristic fashion, Mears said. “In the ’60s, young women didn’t want to wear antiquated, old-fashioned clothes like their mother would wear,” Mears said.