How Sci-Fi Continues to Power Contemporary Fashion

Blade Runner
Ridley Scott’s rain-soaked blend of retro-futurism and cyberpunk landed in 1982. 

Loosely modelled on Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968), Blade Runner dilated pupils with its saturated neo-noir illuminated by costume designers Michael Kaplan and Charles Knode. 

In fact, the fashion zeitgeist remains fascinated by the work of both designers, and the film continues to provide plenty of sartorial insight decades later in the 21st century. 

Perhaps most famously, Raf Simons’ whole SS18 runway orbited Blade Runner’s mesmerising mise en scène. Glowing signs flashed ‘REPLICANTS’, atrophied umbrellas lit-up with neon handles, and technicoloured lanterns all paid homage to Ridley Scott’s enduring masterpiece. 

Legendary Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto also recently referenced characters Pris and Rachael for his 2017 ready-to-wear collection, while Vivienne Westwood was quick to draw inspiration in 1983 for her show, ‘Punkature’.

No, androids may not dream of electric sheep, but we’re still locked in the sartorial reveries of Michael Kaplan and Charles Knode. 

The Fifth Element
France’s enfant terrible detonated a ‘big bada boom’ as part of 1997’s The Fifth Element, director Luc Besson linking up with Jean Paul Gaultier for over 1000 eye-watering outfits. 

Flipping the sartorial sensibilities of sci-fi on their head, Gaultier manufactured hundreds of punk-kitsch costumes for the film, feeding the wardrobe through a kaleidoscope of colours and styles that featured everything from wild full-body leopard print (with bonus cane) to black, wide-necked satin paired with red flowers (let’s not forget Chris Tucker’s bleached mega-quiffs and Milla Jovovich’s flaming red hair).

For his part, British designer Alexander McQueen paid homage to The Fifth Element in his SS 1998 collection, while Jeremy Scott adopted the chic McDonald’s cashiers for FW14.

Obviously a far cry from the dystopian wardrobes of Blade Runner (and the generally muted palettes of sci-fi), Gaultier’s spectacle is perfectly coherent with the current 90s maximalist revival. 

Now, where did we leave our Multi-Pass?

The Matrix
It’s hard to equate the truly seismic impact The Matrix continues to have on contemporary fashion. 

Defining the Y2K trend of tight, glistening leather pants and long trench coats, The Wachowskis’ 1999 tour de force continues to experience sartorial déjà vu in the 21st century. 

From Bella Hadid’s tiny glasses to Kanye West’s muted, oversized Yeezy ensembles (preempted by the crew aboard the Nebuchadnezzar), The Matrix repeatedly plugs into the sartorial paradigm. Black vinyl seems to be wrapping us up all over again, and artists like The Weeknd seem destined to wander the so-called ‘Desert of the Real’ in perpetuity.

Much earlier than that, fashion houses were very quick to ride the long leather coattails back in the late 90s. Dior debuted their quilt stitched overcoats just four months after The Matrix premiered, while Balenciaga and Dolce & Gabbana both paid homage to Trinity with leather leggings and cropped jackets with a multitude of buckles. 

We’ll have to wait until 2022 to see the next sartorial evolution of The Matrix, but you can be sure that a leviathan leather trench coat will future-proof your wardrobe – at least until the next black cat walks by.