My look was inspired by many pieces shown throughout the film, "The Fifth Element." For starters, I incorporated a leather jacket that Zorg and his henchmen wore. In any futuristic sci-fi film, leather is almost always seen. As seen throughout the film, many of the women similarly wear their hair: bob-cut with bangs. My friend happened to have a wig I could use for this, and I couldn't resist wearing it.
Layering was another huge part of the fashion in the movie. I wanted to incorporate this into my look. In current times, layering is becoming trendy and I don't think it's going away. Current fashion will definitely be prominent in future fashion - trends almost always come back around. We see this today with fashion returning from the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s. What was once thought to be old and tacky is now fashionable and in style.
Much of the clothing worn in the film has a sweetheart neckline, which I think will be in future fashion. I mainly saw this with the flight attendants, who also wore their hair similarly to the wig I wore. I included this in my look with the layering of a bathing suit top on a button-down shirt. The bathing suit was wrapped in plastic wrap, aluminum foil - another stereotypical material in future fashion - and magazine clippings.
As I was flipping through the magazines I had, I wanted to include words and phrases that seemed to be prominent to the future. I, of course, had to use the word "Vogue" because I fully believe it will always play an important role in society. Vogue has been so inspiring to all, and I do not see it disappearing in the future. Its impact has been so strong and it has been covering the news of the social scene for over a century. Other phrases I used were "Dream Big," "Up Front Speaking Out," and "Rebel, Rebel." Rebellion is so important to the future. It stands for injustice and is revolutionary. I don't imagine a perfect future, but I do imagine a rebellion taking place to stand and speak out for what is right.
Phrases like "A New Era," "The It Factor," and "Precious Metals" represent the future fashion. New eras of fashion are always ahead of us, which includes "The It Factor." When I envision the future, I see metallics and metals, which is why I wanted to use the phrase "Precious Metals." This clipping was actually found on a page about futuristic fashion. Bella Hadid was pictured in clothing from various designers - wearing all metallics. Metallics was something I really wanted to use in my look, however, I had to settle for aluminum foil. Each phrase I chose to include in my look brings across important messages. Fashion tells stories. The clippings of models I used all showed similarities to things seen in the film.
The other parts of my look - the pants - were from my own thoughts of future fashion. I thrifted the pants months ago and was never able to find a place to wear them. They are very unique and I could not take my eyes off them. I feel they are slightly ahead of fashion today, which is why they are so hard to style. The boa is from my friend's Halloween costume and I feel it’s going to be a staple piece in future fashion. It's fun and quirky now, and only really used for costumes, parties, and Harry Styles concerts. In future fashion, it's going to be much more. The boa was actually inspired by the disguised Mangalore in the film. It was the closest I could find to fur in my closet, and I really wanted to use it.
I used the boa to hold up the skirt I made from a cardboard box. The outfit wasn't originally going to have the skirt, but late the night before, I decided it needed something more. I found a box in the recycling bin in my building and let my creativity take flight. It really pulled the outfit together and I'm glad I decided to make it.
As someone who loves fashion, this was extremely fun to create. The accessories in my outfit are just ways to balance the materials I used. I thought of different areas to include the aluminum foil and really wanted to stand out. My outfit is modern, yet sets a standard for the future. Pictured below is part of the creative process.
