Sustainability Award
2021
Ever speculating about the future, science-fiction and fashion are not from galaxies so far, far away. While couture has long adopted sci-fi concepts, this thesis seeks to go beyond mere aesthetics to hypothesize how positive, future-focused narratives can challenge the second most-polluting industry in the world to go from a driver of dystopia to that of a utopia. This begs the question: How can fashion practitioners leverage science fiction narratives in order to drive real-life social and environmental change?
Take the Nike MAG for example. First fictionally prototyped for Michael J. Fox’s character in 1984’s Back to the Future II, the self-lacing sneaker became science reality in 2015 – the same year the futuristic movie was set. The first pair was given to Fox by legendary Nike engineer Tinker Hatfield. Not only was it a prized patent for Nike, but a serious solution for the actor, whose Parkinson’s limited him from being able to tie his own shoes at all.
Beginning with a visually-rich, analytical examination of sci-fi’s historical influence on fashion, this project ventures to identify more opportunities at this intersection across three distinct categories: trends, innovation & design. Each is anchored by contemporary creative voices from the film, fashion, art, and academic communities. With humanity’s newfound reliance on the face mask – preceded by Marine Serre’s speculative use of them in her FW19 collection – this topic is worth being explored now, more urgently, than ever.
Take the Nike MAG for example. First fictionally prototyped for Michael J. Fox’s character in 1984’s Back to the Future II, the self-lacing sneaker became science reality in 2015 – the same year the futuristic movie was set. The first pair was given to Fox by legendary Nike engineer Tinker Hatfield. Not only was it a prized patent for Nike, but a serious solution for the actor, whose Parkinson’s limited him from being able to tie his own shoes at all.
Beginning with a visually-rich, analytical examination of sci-fi’s historical influence on fashion, this project ventures to identify more opportunities at this intersection across three distinct categories: trends, innovation & design. Each is anchored by contemporary creative voices from the film, fashion, art, and academic communities. With humanity’s newfound reliance on the face mask – preceded by Marine Serre’s speculative use of them in her FW19 collection – this topic is worth being explored now, more urgently, than ever.