Image: The “Junior Unit” chest by Pierre Cardin, 1979–80
Source: Brooklyn Museum
The work selected for this journal is the futuristic fashion designed by Pierre Cardin accompanying his Junior Unit chest in the image above. The design clearly articulates Cardin’s love for geometry, particularly circles. The white dress gives the image a unique futuristic feeling with its circular breast rings combined with the sharp-rectangular shoulders. The dress enunciates the feminist feeling of freedom, which can be traced back to the 1960s movements by artists to fight for the women’s rights and equality (Fashion Revolution). The dress is both casual and official, and is moderated to suit the contemporary and the future world as it readily matches different settings that dignify the female figure. For instance, the abstract art visible from the Junior Unit chest right in from of the female figure in the white dress, gives the atmosphere the sense of sophisticated workplace environment, supported by an even more complicated abstract art with a helmet. the future of the fashion design appears to be inclined towards a focus on gender equality or female empowerment, as highlighted by Fashion Revolution article.
Also, current world is heading towards embracing more of the abstract elements in the furniture designs and architecture. Therefore, designs for the hats and male fashion will need to be tuned to fit in with the transformation. This could explain the male fashion depicted of the Suit made of “Mont Blanc Vest, Turtleneck, and Pants. The cylinder suits along with the tube pants are inspired by Mont Blanc pastries masterpiece of the 1960s for the Maxim’s kitchen, and depicts the futuristic consumer behavior which is exhibited in their purchasing paradox. (O’Grady) The clothes were made from the heat-molded fabric and create the atmosphere of surprise through their unconventional and three-dimensional pattern likely to represent the desire of the majority of the people in future, who would demand for new types of materials for outfits that make them unique. Currently, consumers are prioritizing convenience over conservation, and that could explain the use of silicon rubber alongside black wool as a way to solving the dressing dilemmas that the male consumers face (Lewittes). The deigns appear to be quite similar to some of the characters that have appeared in the futuristic films like Star Wars.
Works Cited
Fashion Revolution. “Does Your Feminist T-Shirt Empower The Women Who Made It? – Fashion Revolution”. Fashion Revolution, 2019, https://www.fashionrevolution.org/does-your-feminist-t-shirt-empower-the-women-who-made-it/.
Lewittes, Elisa. “How Fashion Brands Can Create A More Sustainable End-To-End Retail Economy”. Fashionista, 2019, https://fashionista.com/2019/02/sustainable-fashion-brands-end-to-end-retail-economy.
O’Grady, Megan. “Fashions For The Future”. Nytimes.Com, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/03/21/t-magazine/fashion-future-history.html.
