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It was recently widely reported in the media: six famous women went to space. What stood out in the photos were the suits they wore. No loose, shapeless spacesuits as we know them, but tailored suits with a glamorous look. That was no coincidence, as a fashion company had been brought in for the launch. But this is not an isolated case. More and more companies are partnering with the fashion industry to develop spacesuits for astronauts to work in.
Glamorous Spacesuits
It was journalist Lauren Sanchez (third from the left in the photo above) who took the initiative to have a special suit made for the Blue Origin flight she would take with five other women. This isn’t surprising, as Sanchez is not only a journalist but also a licensed pilot and founder of Black Ops Aviation, a company specializing in aerial filming. She is therefore familiar with clothing designed for use in the air.
The step to spacesuits may seem large, but if you look at what the female astronauts at Blue Origin wore last year (see the two photos below), you will understand why she took this initiative. The suits were originally designed for the male body and were cinched at the waist with a belt. From the side, they looked reasonably good, but up close you could see that the crotch hung too low and the shoulders were too large.
For the new suits, Blue Origin collaborated with Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim, owners of the New York fashion label Monse. They are also the creative directors at the fashion house Oscar de la Renta and the masterminds behind the outfit Sanchez wore at the 2024 Met Gala.
Together with Blue Origin, the duo created a spacesuit designed specifically for the female body. To ensure a perfect fit, a 3D scan was made of each crew member. The suits are made from flame-resistant stretch neoprene and feature a special mission patch designed specifically for this flight.
Fashion companies increasingly involved in designing spacesuits
In the case of the Blue Origin suits, appearance played an important role in the design. After all, the women were not required to perform any work in space. But there are also fashion and costume designers whose expertise is used for functional spacesuits.
For example, Elon Musk collaborated with Hollywood costume designer Jose Fernandez for the SpaceX spacesuits. Fernandez previously worked on costumes for films such as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Tron, Iron Man 2, The Amazing Spider-Man, and Captain America: Civil War. In an interview, Fernandez explained that when he was approached in 2016 to design the spacesuits, he initially thought SpaceX was the name of a film. Due to a lack of time to develop a full suit, he first designed a helmet. As all other designs submitted by his competitors were rejected by Musk, and only his helmet was approved, Fernandez was eventually allowed to design the entire spacesuit.
And in the future, we will see more collaborations like this. For the Artemis III mission, planned for 2027, NASA has collaborated with Prada. In partnership with Axiom Space, the fashion company developed a white spacesuit (see photo above).
According to Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada’s Group Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, it is a logical collaboration:
“We have shared our expertise in high-quality materials, functionality, and tailoring techniques, and we have learned a great deal. I am sure we will continue to explore new challenges, broaden our horizons, and build new scenarios together.”
And he certainly has a point. The fashion and aerospace industries are completely different, but that is precisely the strength of this collaboration. In the end, we can only learn from each other.
Best regards,
Aileen
good insight’s about suits and thanks for sharing this blog