1 0 00 00 11 10 10 00 11 1 0 0
1 1 0 0
0 1 0 1 01 0 1 0 00 0 0 10 1 00 0 01 0 1
01 0 10 10 00 01
1 00 01 10 01 1
0 0 11 10 001 0 01 11 0 10 00 0 1 0 1
I
n the landscape of science fiction, filmmakers make decisions about worldbuilding and characters with the aim to demonstrate an existence which is fundamentally different from our own. In order to transport viewers to a universe which is believably futuristic, there must be elements within nearly every facet of life which unsettle us with their foreignness. While this is clearly evident in set design and special effects, special care is also taken with the sartorial; fashion in the imagined future is often either an exaggeration of the current, or a pivot to new directionsit is rarely a continuation of the norm. Through these choices we see reflected the anxieties of the time, and the impact of these choices reflect the ways in which these imaginings speak to the audiences they were created for. What current fashion do these films decide to kill? What do they resurrect? The Matrix This 1999 Sci-fi noir film comes at the heels of a decade defined by technological churn. The World Wide Web was invented, Google was founded, and Windows 95 enabled widespread use of the computer in homes across America. These changes were heavily resisted by the public, and a survey conducted by Dell in the 90’s found that a staggering 55% of Americans refused to use computers in their everyday lives out of distrust, and even fear. The film itself explores the complicated relationship between man and machine, examining the ways technology can be
harnessed for individual expression or become a device of isolation and control. Neo uses his advanced knowledge of technology to control it, but those still blissfully unaware in the matrix itself are a slave to the very technology mankind created. The stark contrast between the world of the Matrix and the Nebuchadnezzar, the ship where Neo and the other rebels take refuge, is so powerful in part because it creates a clear dialogue between the contemporary world of the viewers and a futuristic dystopia in which technology takes over. The distinction between the two worlds is made clear not just through the elaborate, futuristic set design of the Nebuchadnezzar, but also through the costuming of the film’s characters; Neo’s leather duster, Trinity’s skin tight black bodysuit, and the iconic black sunglasses all form a stark contrast to the pedestrian clothing of the Matrix. Designer Kym Barret wielded low cost materials like PVC to create pieces that emphasized texture and movement, like the sweep of the coat or the mirror-like reflection of the catsuit. These costumes not only set these characters apart, they also suggest the ways in which a person who works in-tandem with technology rather than under its control might look like; the futuristic materials of the garments enable movement, and the simplicity of the design suggests efficiency and a desire for anonymity. Ironically, it’s this desire for anonymity that makes the wearer so eye-catching; the design suggests a disregard for acknowledgement and indicates the presence of a private and inaccessible world, hidden behind the shades of a pair of pitch-