# Fictional Future Fashion **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 11, 2021, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-future-fashion/939799 "2021-04-11T16:15:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2021, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-future-fashion/939799/1 "2021-04-11T16:15:11Z")
The future of fashion is totally unpredictable-If you could show someone from the '20s what people would be wearing in the '50s, '80s, 2000s etc. their jaws would drop, and I’m pretty sure our jaws would drop if we got a looksee of how people will dress a half century or more in our future…but look at how we depict how people of the future dress in television and/or the movies: Jumpsuits for everybody. Single color leotards for everybody. The same vaguely retro look in a few basic Crayola Crayon Colors for everybody. Where are the half-head haircuts, the horizontal pants zippers, the bell-bottom shirt sleeves, the eyeglasses with nose-covers built in, the plated business foot slippers, the underarm Spider-Man type webbing etc.? When future fashions are shown, where is the “What the fuck are they wearing??” factor? Where is the wide variation of dress that every generation shows off? What visual fiction has been brave in this regard, and what would you like to see in future fashion on television, in the movies and other visual media? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2021, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-future-fashion/939799/2 "2021-04-11T16:19:02Z")
Barbarella had a variety of future fashions displayed back in 1968. If you’re not familiar google: “Barbarella Fashion” * * * The Fifth Element also shows strange futuristic fashions with a fair variety. * * * The Hunger Games, but only at the Capitol. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2021, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-future-fashion/939799/3 "2021-04-11T17:04:52Z")
Moebius comics have a good bit of it. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2021, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-future-fashion/939799/4 "2021-04-11T17:14:16Z")
The clothes aren’t really “fashion” _per se_, but I think the Belters in The Expanse are shown pretty realistically. They live on ships and stations that are notorious for being in poor shape due to poverty, so a lot of them wear outfits that are essentially just pressure suits, so they can slap on a helmet and gloves pretty quickly if there’s a pressure leak. Quite a few are also shown with hairstyles that would fit well under a helmet. In fact, you can kind of tell how well-off a group of Belters are by how impractical their clothing gets. People on good ships are less worried about this than people on crappy ships. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2021, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-future-fashion/939799/5 "2021-04-11T17:24:32Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > The future of fashion is totally unpredictable-If you could show someone from the '20s what people would be wearing in the '50s, '80s, 2000s etc. their jaws would drop, and I’m pretty sure our jaws would drop if we got a looksee of how people will dress a half century or more in our future… Well, except for men’s business clothes. One hundred years later a suit is perfectly recognizable. Now, show them what the fashion catalogs were selling in the _ **70s** _, THAT would raise eyebrows, just like it does for _us_. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2021, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-future-fashion/939799/6 "2021-04-11T17:29:04Z")
**Her** (2013) takes place in a near-future world where fashions have changed just enough to look slightly “off.” High-waisted beltless pants, mandarin-collared shirts, etc.: [![](https://fmstcolgate.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/joaquin-pheonix-in-her-3.jpg?w=1800) ](https://fmstcolgate.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/joaquin-pheonix-in-her-3.jpg?w=1800) ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2021, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-future-fashion/939799/7 "2021-04-11T23:07:15Z")
We just finished watching _Plebs_ which is set in Ancient Rome, and man, do those tunics look comfortable. The Eloi in the _The Time Machine_ (1960) wore something similar. [![](https://www.theamericanconservative.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/eloi.jpg) ](https://www.theamericanconservative.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/eloi.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-future-fashion/939799/8 "2021-04-12T03:02:23Z")
Jerry Seinfeld: "I think eventually fashion won’t even exist. It won’t. I think eventually we’ll all be wearing the same thing. 'Cause anytime I see a movie or a TV show where there are people from the future, or another planet, _they’re all wearing the same thing._ Somehow they decided ‘This is going to be our outfit. One-piece silver jumpsuit, V-stripe, and boots. That’s it.’" (standup clip:) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ceRsfMaQ4r0/maxresdefault.jpg "Seinfeld - Future Fashion") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceRsfMaQ4r0) ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-future-fashion/939799/9 "2021-04-12T04:13:42Z")
I always kind of liked the shoe hats in Terry Gilliam’s _Brazil_. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-future-fashion/939799/10 "2021-04-12T06:49:53Z")
I’d like to see more SciFi make use of what’s _currently_ cutting-edge fashion - 3-D printed clothing, kinetic clothing, and the like. Give me shit like this (and don’t CGI it): [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/uTTezk__Xvw/maxresdefault.jpg "Robotic Spider Dress [Intel Edison based] // 2015") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTTezk__Xvw) and this [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/QNxI9O24Gww/hqdefault.jpg "#SYNAPSEDRESS Intel-Edison based reads mental states // Anouk Wipprecht") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNxI9O24Gww) and this [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/mPjfFzrAuos/maxresdefault.jpg "3D printed smart clothing") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPjfFzrAuos) ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-future-fashion/939799/11 "2021-04-12T07:10:03Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Well, except for men’s business clothes. One hundred years later a suit is perfectly recognizable. _Babylon 5_ played a little with this - men’s suits in the 23rd century have banded collars with no tie and jackets with no lapels. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-future-fashion/939799/12 "2021-04-12T07:41:19Z")
People want simple tops, basic pants with pockets, and a comfortable shoe. Other details may vary, such as colour range and material, additional layers may be included, with various length sleeves and hemlines, accessories optional. We’re not ever going back to powdered wigs, bustles, and codpieces. As our cultures start to merge, most traditional clothing will adapt, and we’ll fall into the safe space of practicality over avant garde. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-future-fashion/939799/13 "2021-04-12T07:46:49Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I’d like to see more SciFi make use of what’s _currently_ cutting-edge fashion - 3-D printed clothing, kinetic clothing, and the like Queen Ramonda’s more elaborate outfits in _Black Panther_ took large advantage of this tech. [![](https://www.blackpanthercostu.me/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Black-Panther-Ramonda-White-Front.jpg) ](https://www.blackpanthercostu.me/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Black-Panther-Ramonda-White-Front.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-future-fashion/939799/14 "2021-04-12T07:56:04Z")
Yes. Some stuff in _Jupiter Ascending_ as well. But sadly both static. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-future-fashion/939799/15 "2021-04-12T10:18:15Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > People want simple tops, basic pants with pockets, and a comfortable shoe. People _also_ want - ballgowns, clubwear, art statements, high fashion, conspicuous consumption, to shock the normals… None of that’s going away just because everyday clothing is less formal nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-future-fashion/939799/16 "2021-04-12T12:09:48Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > People want simple tops, basic pants with pockets, and a comfortable shoe. Other details may vary, such as colour range and material, additional layers may be included, with various length sleeves and hemlines, accessories optional. > > We’re not ever going back to powdered wigs, bustles, and codpieces. As our cultures start to merge, most traditional clothing will adapt, and we’ll fall into the safe space of practicality over avant garde. Who are _these_ people? 😉 And what, pray tell, are “simple tops” and “basic pants”? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-future-fashion/939799/17 "2021-04-12T12:11:27Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](#): > > And what, pray tell, are “simple tops” and “basic pants”? T-shirts and jeans haven’t gone out of fashion in about 60 years. So… them. Things that take less than 30 seconds to put on. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-future-fashion/939799/18 "2021-04-12T12:19:14Z")
_Back to the Future II_ did a good job with future fashion. It’s highly variable and individualistic, very bright and colourful, weird but not too impractical. (Okay, not the double neckties!) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-future-fashion/939799/19 "2021-04-12T16:29:43Z")
In H.G. Wells’ **Things to Come** people in the _good_ future (not the dystopian ever-going war part) wear tunics and capes, as if they’re all superheroes: > **[Things To Come (1936)](https://themindreels.com/2012/08/30/things-to-come-1936/)** > > H.G. Wells penned the script for this film from the 101 Sci-Fi Movies to see before you die, and it is a sometimes bleak and depressing look at our future, though still ends with the possibility of… [http://lecinemaparadiso.co.uk/review/things-to-come](http://lecinemaparadiso.co.uk/review/things-to-come) > **[Things to Come](https://v2.nl/archive/works/things-to-come)** > > Things to Come is Alexander Korda's film adaptation of H.G. Wells 1933 essay The Shape of Things to Come. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2021, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-future-fashion/939799/20 "2021-04-12T16:56:02Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > In H.G. Wells’ **Things to Come** people in the _good_ future (not the dystopian ever-going war part) wear tunics and capes, as if they’re all superheroes: Weirdly, some of them wear _shorts_ and capes! 🙂 [https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-499jecLDtA8/XoQyK3StnpI/AAAAAAAAWLk/t\_BH-gq75xUxrCWwwGaBOw5dNOaP5IEwgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/thingstocome%2B%252839%2529.png](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-499jecLDtA8/XoQyK3StnpI/AAAAAAAAWLk/t_BH-gq75xUxrCWwwGaBOw5dNOaP5IEwgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/thingstocome%2B%252839%2529.png) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-future-fashion/939799.md?page=2)