Spacewear (2014)
We’ve reached a time where exploring fashion for space travel is a real thing.
Swedish adventurer Renata Chlumska will be one of the first Swedish women to travel to space and needed something to wear. She imagined she needed something special – not just the traditional, masculine one-piece flight suit. “I want it to look and feel weightless, to tell a different story than other clothes”, says Chlumska. The suit must also adhere to safety requirements and be suitable for a range of activities.
With the excitement and freedom that the dawn of commercial space travel allows, here is what was created in partnership with Smart Textiles (Sweden) and Spacesport Sweden.
The garments and accessories we designed might look surprisingly simple, but there is a lot of hidden functionality. With many safety restrictions on what one can wear aboard a spaceflight and the physical hardships it would incur, we produced many design ideas. For example, pockets are not permitted to be integrated directly into a garment on flight or in training, so we constructed cushioned, removable neoprene pockets that secure to the arm or leg at the appropriate times.
A reflective stripe across the chest represents Spaceport Sweden’s theme of new horizons.
For safety reasons, pockets cannot be integrated directly into the garment. Here, a removable neoprene pocket secures to the leg.
Pictured here is a wristband with blue lights integrated to represent the concept of housing electronics of various sorts into cushioned neoprene (a camera, heart monitor...etc.)