achieved on the big screen with his 1972 film Solaris. However, outer space can also inspire a budget pro- duction of extravagance in action – as was the case with the Chanel fashion show under the creative leadership of the unsurpassed Karl Lagerfeld, during which Paris’s Grand Palais served as the highly stylised landscape of intergalactic scenes, even with a spaceship taking off from the catwalk (albeit only a few metres). However, if we set theatricality aside, space fashion continues to draw on a code of utilitarian clothing in which the sexes are erased, and which we all identify with in the (not so distant) future. This inevitably leads to a re-evaluation of everything that we consider futuristic technology. The Courrèges fashion house was renovated recently, continuing the author's research of plastic as a fashion medium, under the new creative leadership of Nicolas Di Felice – but, in line with current principles of sus- tainability, they are developing new plant-based alter- natives to harmful production processes. Yes, function- ality can be mixed well with dramatic futurism, as is the case with the work of Norma Kamali, who has been cut- ting fabric from sleeping bags to make jackets since her creative beginnings in the 1970s, perceiving the metal- lic sheen as a stylised representation of the universe. Another way the universe is experienced in fash- ion is through the visual material documented during research missions. Creator Iris Van Herpen is celebrat- ed for her unique perception of modern technology on dressmaking and was among the first to be encouraged to try implementing 3D printing. In her latest collec- tion, under the title Earthrise, she is inspired by NA- SA archives, particularly the green and blue details in photos of Earth shot from Apollo 8 in 1968. Before she arrived, the library was visited by designer Stephen Sprouse, who presented a collection in New York in 1984 that was covered with “interplanetary prints” created in collaboration with this American space agency, on- ly to produce more similar prints in a 1999 collection dedicated to Mars, presented to an audience that wore 3D glasses at the show. NASA simultaneously arouses nostalgia and excite- ment over what the next research will bring. Its log- os from the ‘50s and ‘70s, known in design jargon as “the meatball” and “the worm”, are often seen on the t-shirts and hoodies of high street brands like H&M and Zara, although they also have their more luxuri- ous Balenciaga homage in the collection for the current season. Regardless of whether you wear the one cost- ing tens of euros or the one costing hundreds, you’ll feel like you’re part of a trend that has its limits in some other galaxy.
Fashion » Moda | 53
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