This year, I’ve heard less about 2019 and more about “50 years ago in 1969.” So, much like everyone else, I’ve been obsessed with journeying back in time to see what all happened in the year that defined a culture, and changed the course of the future. But while doing this, I realized that my interest was a lot more personal than I’d expected.
During the summer, while studying abroad in southern France at SCAD’s Lacoste campus, I ran into Pierre Cardin; well, it was less of a run-in and more of being pushed out of the way to clear his path.
Cardin is an iconic designer best known for his late 60s/early 70s mod Space Age attire, and who just happened to own most of the village I was temporarily living in. My encounter was minuscule, to say the least, but seeing as there’s a storefront in town filled with mannequins dressed in his space-age attire, I became more and more intrigued with him, and with this period in fashion history. Space didn’t fit the Provencal aesthetic, but when the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 happened during my stay in the village, all of my scattered fascinations fell in sync and my desire to honor this era was born.
The same way that these looks are recreations, Space Age style in and of itself is a recreation. Apollo 11 produced new American idols in Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins. Modern electronic technology and the all-encompassing nature of a spacesuit are also obvious influences, but with the newfound freedom of the miniskirt and dress, the style truly became its own thing. The idea of dressing up like your idols is nothing new to us today, but in 1969, technology and space travel opened up a whole new dimension to this.
The oftentimes boxy and monochromatic dresses were paired with go-go boots to mimic space boots. The most important element was the odd, disproportionate glasses to represent this odd new thing called electronic technology, and the hats were an obvious ode to the space helmets.
Space Age style is all about honoring the past, while also maintaining a gaze to the future. With all of the new technological advances today that are appearing by the second, space travel has become a norm to the modern generation, but the wonder, for me at least, is in the style. Maybe interest will be resurgent if we ever make it to Mars, but for now, I’m content with living back in the Space Age attire of 1969.
Words, styling, and creative direction by Gracie Williams
Shot by Lance Langel
Models:
Taylor Alexander – @shor.tay
Sophie Leopold – @sophiefayleopold