How The Space Race Affected The Future of Fashion Industry

The 2010 year marks half a century since man first stepped foot on the moon; an interstellar operation that changed the world and sent fashion into a new orbit. Ever since NASA astronauts Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins completed their Apollo mission on July 10 1969, there has been an undeniable shift in the future of the fashion universe. This small step for man, and giant leap for mankind, sparked a fashion“space race”, boosting a new crop of young, emerging designers to face the next fashion frontier. 

When doing some trend time travelling, we can see the complete evolution of space age fashion trends from 1969 to today. Designers like Pierre Cardin, André Courréges and Paco Rabbane powered ahead of the pack to sartorially predict what they thought to be the future of fashion.

There was a growing global fascination with space travel that captured the hearts and minds of earthlings in the late 1960s, giving way for the innovative young minds of these designers to define a decade of extraterrestrial beings.

Whether is was perspex head gear, glossy vinyl or even fibre optics, there was always a plethora of possibilities for women to feel powerful and free to take on the world. But, the evolution of space age fashion did not end in the late 60s or early 70s. Even though the 1980s saw the trend trickle through various spreads in Vogue, space age fashion went ‘back to the future’ in the 90s and early 00s. Reappearing with a fresh and funky street style reimagining, ultraviolet, white and silver were once again prominent on the runways.

The space race has continued to transcend through the decades and pinball through literature, film and of course, the fashion world. With space age holographics, silver spandex, patent and perspex pervading the 2018 runways of designers like Chanel, Balmain and Phillip Plein; it is clear that space age fashion is not yet extinct.  Designers are still drawing on the endless possibilities of this intergalactic inspiration to produce countless collections that are spreading to the streets.

Fashion prides itself on looking forward and taking us into the future. So, what will the future hold for space age fashion?  Although futuristic fashion has been an emerging trend for a number of decades, with the growing convergence of fashion and technology, will we see the future of fashion really take off? In another fifty years, will we be printing on our own pants? Viewing Vogue in virtual reality?  Is this the future that the fashion world wants? Or are we simply not prepared to launch into unfamiliar territory.