Back in 1999 a quirky cool show came out called ZENON: Girl of the 21st Century and now that we are actually in the 21st century its cool to see they weren’t so far off!
We always say the past informs our future, so when speaking on this idea of retro-futurism its so fun to notice visions of the future from the past, and usually in this context we speak often of a retro-future from the 40s, 50s, even 60s . . .but now we are seeing retro-future ideas taken from the 90s.
Jeremy Scott really took it there 100% with this vibe in his Autumn-Winter 2018 collection from the pastel millenial metallic palette with strokes of neon… to some really quirky weird sci-fi silhouettes.
The wigs brought me back to another 90s sci-fi gem which may be a bit more obscure unless you lived in Canada than guaranteed you watched this show if you grew up in the 90s: SPACE CASES!!!
The show first aired back in 1996, and has since stuck in our minds as a really rad adventure series featuring some cool talent. I think the plot was best summed up by Bethany on IMDB:
One day at an academy, 7 people sneak aboard a mysterious spaceship. The people consist of 5 students, who are Harlan, the athletic leader from earth; Catalina, the Saturnian rainbow-head with a sonic scream; Bova, the negative sour-pus Uranian who can generate electricity; Rosie, the happy Mercurian who radiates heat; and Radu, the Andromedan with super strength and hearing; the other two people are Mrs. T.J. Davenport, the principal at the academy and Commander Seth Goddard, who is their teacher/commander. While on-board they meet an android named Thelma who informs them that they are on a spaceship that is half living and called the Christa. Just when they meet up they become aware that they are approaching a hole that if they get sucked into, they will be stuck in space for 7 years. They eventually do and along their journey they encounter many hardships and enemies that they work together to overcome. They also meet some new people like Suzee (Catalina’s imaginary friend from another dimension who gets pulled into this dimension during a warp, putting Catalina in her dimension; she can read minds and has gills), Elmira (Sponge daughter of Warlard Shank), Warlard Shank (the arch enemy of them), etc.
Thorough analysis. Thank you Bethany.
{click here to watch the original Pilot plus links to more episodes}
The wigs immediately gave me some serious Jewel Staite as Catalina vibes; although, hers is just that much more with the multi-colored rings representing her home planet Saturn. Am I wrong?
Oh, and sorry about the strange captions in the two photos there. They are entertaining, nonetheless. Since it is a more obscure show, it was hard to find some great images, but I think you get the vibe, and especially with a few of the looks from Jeremy Scott’s AW 2018 show sandwiched between- I think the inspirations are undeniable!
Boy, Canadian television in the 90s was wicked…and man, Jeremy Scott’s interns must have been binge watching some serious shit, because you can’t deny that the painted ladies of Jeremy Scott’s Moschino Autumn-Winter 2018 show really give me crazy Rosie comparisons!
Granted, Jeremy Scott’s inspiration for this collection was Jackie-O, Aliens, and Conspiracy Theories so its not that far off…
Some other designers you can’t deny took a very similar route were Prada:
And, Maison Margiela Couture Autmn-Winter 2018 which was a symphony of hologram! Our jaws were dropethed watching one look after another walk down the runway.
If you have a chance, watch the actual show so you can see how magically these fabrics react to light- its magnificent and really shows the art of textile design and the incredible things being engineered today.
{Watch the Maison Margiela Couture Autumn-Winter 2018 Show}
Since we are on this topic, I wanted to throw in some pics of a few more Canadian 90s aliens from the cult show ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK? – episode: “The Thirteenth Floor”!!!
Two kids get lured by stylish 90s aliens to a strange toy company that just happened to open on the 13th floor of their apartment complex where they usually play floor hockey…moral of the story is, if you think its weird a toy company opened overnight on the 13th floor of your apartment complex then just stay away!!! Especially when they’re dressed like that!
Never would I have imagined in 20 years I’d be talking about Are You Afraid of the Dark or Space Cases in the context of fashion and style…its actually kind of shocking how many designers landed on this vibe, but nevertheless its really interesting to have this kind of nostalgia prevalent in the scene, and no doubt we will be seeing more and more of this as time goes on.
The {past} repeats itself, even if that {past} is imitating the {future}!
Something about this vibe has always been in us, and we have been tending to lean towards this style many times – from metallic foil shirts, to PVC jackets, and definitely anything hologram! I guess, we like to be ahead of the curve, and it really goes to show the power in staying relevant with the past.
Here are a few pieces in our {SHOP} right now that epitomize the 90s Back to the Future vibe that is taking over!
Details on these and more in the {SHOP}
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Remember, inspiration is everywhere! Keep your eyes open, because what seems mundane now could quite easily be the next big thing!
Did we miss any awesome 90s sci-fi inspirations? Let us know in the COMMENTS below!
Until next time,
{theEye}
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