![]() ![]() ![]() The new A-line dresses and trousers made way for a more active lifestyle suited for women who were no longer expected to remain in the confinements of their homes, and the wrinkle-free, easily washable synthetic materials relieved them of many of their previous chores. The frills and restrictive fashion of the previous decade were replaced by more androgynous clothing which further promoted the aspired strive toward equality. The Space Age in fashion also correlated with second-wave feminism, and provided the modern working woman with more practical clothes, as she emerged from the shadow of the 1950s housewife. The fabric shortage during World War II had led to the invention of a myriad of new fabrics for designers to work with, and synthetic materials such as nylon, lurex and spandex were incorporated in the designs, giving them their shiny, plastic quality. Moving from couture and taking to the streets, the Space Age could be seen in the new, minimalist designs donned by a plethora of women, with their straight lines and monochromatic quality. Not always the most wearable fashion, Space Age couture often served to make a statement, as can be seen in Paco Rabanne’s 1966 line entitled 12 Unwearable Dresses in Contemporary Materials. André Courrèges introduced the Space Look in 1964, which featured geometrical designs made from PVC and monochromatic white ensembles with strategically placed cutouts, complete with helmets meant to echo the design of those of the celebrated astronauts. ![]() ![]() With the new boost in the glorification of the new technologies echoing that of the the Machine Age of early 20th century, fashion designers displayed a positivity toward the recent improvements made in technology and incorporated the spirit of this new era into their designs. Though space travel was hardly an innovative idea (one look at George Méliès’s 1902 film A Trip to the Moon will tell you differently), all at once it seemed accessible, and as politics reached new heights, the arts scene was quick to follow. With the Cold War in full swing, the beginning of the 60s carried with it a strong futuristic spirit people wanted to reach for the stars, and for the first time in history this was not just a possibility, but a certainty. His daring cutaways and pioneering methods of construction featured in the 1968 sci-fi film Barbarella and have been copied many times over the decades – updated versions of his chainmail dresses have been sported by celebrities including Paris Hilton and Bella Hadid, while a recent reissue of his much-beloved 1969 metal bag was an immediate hit.The 1920s had the flapper post-WWII saw the rise of Christian Dior’s New Look, but when it comes to novelty, it seems that the 1960s win the ‘otherworldly’ prize with the emerge of Space Age fashion. Playfully claiming to have “travelled to Earth from the planet Altair to organise civilisation on this planet 78,000 years ago”, Rabanne’s art-clothing hybrids allowed for a particularly evocative form of time travel, bringing suggestions of medieval-era chainmail and other historic attire into an uncertain modern age. Working with a series of innovative materials – including paper, plastic and, most famously, metal – Rabanne’s designs often resembled very beautiful (and sometimes scanty) armour from a mysterious universe. In the hands of Spanish designer Paco Rabanne, the Space Race became perfect stimulus for envisioning an avant-garde future. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |