Space Fashion in Microgravity and on Earth

Fashion in space is not to be understood in the same way as on Earth. It’s not about designing glamorous collections inspired by space style, as happened during the Space Age, in which the massive use of synthetic materials with colors that preferred the shades of white and silver gave rise to plastic shapes inspired by science fiction films. Designing clothes that will be used by astronauts in space, aboard the International Space Station (ISS), means knowing very well an environment unknown to us, governed by different laws such as confinement and microgravity, that are not part of our daily experience and cannot be reproduced on our planet. And vice-versa, designing clothes that will be used on Earth, that integrate space technologies, means having the ability to identify the most promising innovations used in space and transform them into new applications. In this chapter are described two case studies conducted by the author, who for more than twenty years has been dealing with Space Design, which highlight in the first case, how design can take a priority role to improve life in space, and in the second, how design can act as a “bridge” between science and beauty generating spin-offs from space to Earth. The first case study concerns the VEST and GOAL experiments, a clothing system for the Intra-Vehicular Activities (IVA) of astronauts on board the ISS, based on new parameters designed specifically for Space, with the aim of increasing the comfort and performance of astronauts during daily activities. The second case study, the capsule collection COUTURE IN ORBIT, points out that Space can be a great inspiration for Design that is able to speak different languages and convey to the public how space research is important to produce well-being and innovation thanks to technology transfers, good practices, and behaviors, from Space to Earth.