The Future Then And Now

If we use rose-tinted glasses to romanticize the past, then we don chrome-plated aviators to imagine our future. We often use the future as a canvas onto which we can project anxieties about the current day and wistful yearning for an idealized past. However, in the midst of our hope and fear, I think we forget that history is a cycle of patterns that appear new to us in the present, but oftentimes are reconstructions of a past lived by generations prior, albeit usually featuring more advanced technology. With each new generation, we grapple with similar issues, but in a new way and with knowledge from the past upon which we can build. And from this arises retrofuturism as a concept. Retrofuturism as an art style is defined as envisioning the future from the perspective of the past. We see this often represented in fiction in the stories of authors like HG Wells. Even though these works are imagining the future, they capture the zeitgeist in which they were written, and from consuming these works we can glimpse whatever may have been the prevailing hope or fear of the time. We see this too in fashion. One of the most recognizable examples of retrofuturism is the space-age fashion of the 1960s. In a decade when space travel was accelerating, designers in the fashion world took note and incorporated the idea of this new technology in their designs. French designer Pierre Cardin utilized bold colors and angular, aerospace-inspired silhouettes to capture both the scientific advances and public fascination with space travel. Fellow French designer André Courregès utilized unconventional materials such as vinyl and PVC to create unique and alien silhouettes. These styles are what came to be known as “space age” fashion and have influenced both high fashion and pop culture representations of futuristic looks. Here is where our past, present, and future collide. In our present day, we see a resurgence in aerospace interest. Supplanting the moon, Mars is now the planetary destination du jour. New aerospace technologies, climate anxiety about the habitability of planet earth, and billionaire fascination with space travel for leisure have led to a soft resurgence of a new space age. Space exploration as a concept is ever popular, however, the ethos around which we view it may differ. Perhaps the space exploration of the 1960s felt more optimistic as opposed to a second plan for survival. Then just as now, the 1960s was a time of great social change and economic upheaval. Maybe, the vision of uncertainty prompted pop culture to look elsewhere for an escape into the unknown where society could start again, but better with a clean slate. Moreover, maybe these fantasy ideals could turn into realities. Perhaps this is the same ethos as today, or perhaps things feel direr because of the climate crises or continued inequality. Or perhaps the urgency we feel is due to the fact that we are alive here and now and only know this present, or perhaps both. Whatever the reason, one thing is sure: our thoughts of the future are full of hope, wonder, fear, determination, nostalgia, and excitement.