With space travel, space age-fashion isn’t far behind. The latest collaboration between Italian luxury group Prada and Texas-based startup Axiom Space, to design NASA’s lunar spacesuits for the Artemis III mission planned for 2025, is one example of next-gen fashion conquering the frontier of space suits.
The Italian luxury fashion house will partner with commercial space company Axiom Space, a privately funded developer of human-rated space infrastructure and provider of human spaceflight services headquartered in Texas.
Prada’s team will work alongside the Axiom Space systems team throughout the design process.
The Artemis mission planned for 2025 is the first crewed lunar landing since Apollo 17 in December 1972 and will also be the first to place a woman on the Moon.
“We are thrilled to partner with Prada on the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) spacesuit. However, Prada’s technical expertise with raw materials, manufacturing techniques, and innovative design concepts will bring advanced technologies instrumental in ensuring the comfort of astronauts on the lunar surface,” said Michael Suffredini, CEO of Axiom Space, in a media statement.
As of now, the details of the new outfit are not outlined but the visuals of the prototype suggest that the new suit will be white in colour with blue stripes and red accents. The design of the spacesuit is created to provide increased flexibility and greater protection to withstand the harsh environment.
Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada group marketing director said, “Our decades of experimentation, cutting-edge technology and design knowhow will be applied to the design of a spacesuit for the Artemis era. It is a true celebration of the power of human creativity and innovation to advance civilisation.”
However, if we look at the space suits over the years, the design and formats have become sleeker. The first human in space, Yuri Gagarin, and the first American in space, John Glenn, wore high-altitude jet suits while moonwalkers Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin wore very heavy suits for their trips. In fact, last year, the space jacket worn by Aldrin was sold at a New York auction for $2.8 million by Sotheby’s and became the most valuable American space artefact ever sold at an auction. Interestingly, Gagarin’s SK-1 spacesuit had life support systems, a visored helmet, a radio headset, and an inflatable collar. In the 1990s, NASA astronauts began donning orange suits, nicknamed the ‘pumpkin suit’.
In the past, fashion houses like Pierre Cardin, Coach and Balenciaga have collaborated with NASA for various collections. Coach collaborated with NASA in 2017 for a new line of spaced-themed shirts, sheets, and gizmos while Cardin is known to visit NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) in 1970 to understand spacesuit design and fashion. Italian designer Cardin at Paris Fashion Week in 1968 showcased a number of ensembles in silver vinyl, while French designer André Courrèges, who was a trained civil engineer, constructed garments for his Moon Girl collection with white go-go boots and tall, spherical hats in 1964.
The 1969 Apollo 11 mission had inspired fashion designers to create space-inspired eclectic collections of dresses, headgear and footwear. Fashion designers Paco Rabanne and Thierry Mugler have launched looks and collections around galaxy-inspired looks in the past. Paco Rabanne experimented in metal to design a look that represented extraterrestrial warriors. Karl Lagerfeld’s 2017 Chanel’s autumn/ winter collection had a cosmic runway with moon boots, astronaut prints and metallic trench coats.
In 1986, French fashion designer Thierry Mugler used striking star motifs and decorative ear cuffs while Dior’s 2006-2007 fall-winter Haute Couture show at Paris Fashion Week saw then creative director of Dior and British designer John Galliano walk the ramp in an astronaut suit.
