With New York’s Fashion Week just around the corner, it’s time to take a closer look at science fiction and fantasy fashion, long unfairly maligned as an unreclaimable wasteland of silver lame unitards and zippered monster suits. But I would argue that, at its best, it can serve as the fictional equivalent of a haute couture laboratory, in which the fashion of the future—and of our dreams—can be brought to life.
1. Jane Fonda in Barbarella
I must begin with Barbarella: Queen of the Galaxy, in which outer space is imagined as a fur-lined, groovetastic after-hours lounge where Stereolab is always on the turntable. This film is the Retro Style Bible, more sixties than the real sixties could ever have been. And though Barbarella may be better known for slipping out of her fabulous outfits than wearing them, Jane Fonda’s good humor and intelligence in this role are the perfect accessories for this awesomely bizarre spider-monkey dress.
More after the jump!
