Blurred Lines Between Fashion and Tech

This year’s Met Gala, titled Manus x Machina (Man vs Machine), highlighted “fashion in the age of technology.” As the stars lined up for their close up in their jaw dropping gowns, I couldn’t help think of how Space Age this whole event was.

In the 1960’s, the space race affected more than just the STEM community, influencing everything from furniture to architecture to have a futuristic look. As a sucker for anything Googie, I leap at the opportunity to travel out to any 60’s architecture, but was I missing that the essence of space futurism could be just a couple of feet away in my own closet?

Well maybe my own closest doesn’t have enough tech to qualify but five fashion schools from Europe are collaborating to make pieces with a current spin on the space age that definitely would. Today ESA released a video about its latest project in conjunction with the Science Museum in London: Cotoure in Orbit. These schools are making 30 pieces to go on display May 25th at the Science Museum. The five schools, located in the UK, France, Italy, Denmark and Germany, were chosen to represent each of the five ESA astronauts who traveled to the International Space Station from 2014 to 2016. Each school was also given its own mission to focus on within the greater vision of incorporating materials used for advanced technology into everyday fashion. You can catch this “spacewalk turned catwalk” one night only. To learn more information about how to attend, click here.

For the New Yorkers, the Meteropolatin Museum of Art’s Manus x Machina exhibition is going on until August 14th of this year and you can learn more about how to attend that here.

Now I know what you are thinking… How do I get some of this space Inspired clothes for myself? Although the technology, materials, and couture prices of these projects may be out of your budget, there are some good places to find affordable merchandise online. Startorialist is a site that compiles space related clothing and accessories with a WIDE variety of prices, so you will probably find some good stuff there! If you are into accessories, definitely check out SciChic for some 3D printed STEM wear.

Before you head out on your merry way, I am going to put some of the pieces ESA has released of the Couture in Orbit collection below (the video and later photos).