The art of imagining what life might be like hundreds of years into the future or thousands of light years out into space requires a lot of speculation. One of the most obvious yet most complex questions is what might these fantastical future folk wear as they live their incredible lives?
When a sci-fi show or movie enters production, it's just taken as gospel that the characters will have to dress in a way that conveys the setting. Very few projects have their space explorers or time travelers decked out in jeans and t-shirts. Modern fashion is just about the only thing off the table, however, as sci-fi fashion can take tons of different directions.
The Future is Form-Fitting
The idealized fashion of the future could be almost anything, but there are a few hallmarks that TV and films love to use. One such go-to is the skin-tight bodysuit. Typically, the average generic sci-fi outfit is a tight outfit made of a vaguely futuristic-looking fabric. Sometimes it resembles athletic mesh, something designed to wick away moisture and breathe easily, but other times it's more like leather armor. This has only become more common in the modern day. Dune is a great example of how this concept has evolved. The Stillsuits that most characters wear used to look a lot like hazmat gear, but Denis Villeneuve's take on the property made them look a bit more like a gritty Power Rangers costume.
60s sci-fi cinema followed many of the same fashion rules as its modern counterparts, but with some interesting developments. The easiest way for a production of that era to demonstrate futurism was to deck out their protagonists in metal and hard plastic. This style went on to inform much of the real fashion world, which in turn informed later science fiction. One of the best examples of that chain is the trend of young adult dystopia. The ludicrously flamboyant maximalist style of the upper class in The Hunger Games is clearly inspired by decades of high-concept sci-fi and high-fashion ensembles.
What's Old is New Again
It has been said that fashion goes in cycles, so when sci-fi cinema isn't trying to guess what the future might look like, they're updating old-fashioned garb for the new era. Tons of science fiction takes on a genre set in the past and sends it into the future. The popular space western subgenre dresses most of its characters in traditional old west outfits. Folks are riding through space in leather duster coats, suspenders, and other hallmarks of the frontier. However, the old west isn't the only anachronistic style choice that sci-fi costume creators might try to bring to life.
The Jedi in Star Wars are draped in robes that wouldn't look out of place in a renaissance painting or an ancient Japanese period piece. They're meant to be somewhat out of place, so it works in context. The average person in the galaxy far, far away is dressed in fairly normal outfits, customized to the climate of the planet they live on. Han Solo is a fun example as his sense of style has changed very little from his youth to his old age. On the other end, the outfits from Paul Verhoeven's Starship Troopers were designed to evoke the unpleasantly harsh military uniforms of Nazi Germany. These style decisions are evocative of the cultural shorthand that modern audiences can use to understand the characters, using history and fashion as a jumping-off point.
Dress For the Genre You Have
When dealing with subgenres, many of the unique shades of sci-fi have their own approved dress code. Thanks to the Wachowskis and the novels that inspired them, the go-to look for a cyberpunk hacker is black leather trenchcoats and reflective shades. This iconic fashion choice became iconic well beyond the realm of science fiction, but anyone could throw together the right all-black ensemble and pass as a denizen of The Matrix this Halloween. Black leather also feels right at home in the post-apocalypse sci-fi genre, though it'll typically be in a state of disrepair. Mad Max and its army of knockoffs dress their heroes and villains in motorcycle-safe leather, typically with plenty of spikes and scrap metal for accessories.
Sci-fi fashion is all about finding the right outfit for the franchise. No one look has a full grasp on the future. The costume must match the world it's designed for. Fashion among sci-fi filmmakers follows trends just like style does in the real world. Every so often, a costume designer comes along and redefines the look of deep space. The average person of the future might wear something that wouldn't look out of place on any street in any city today, but some sci-fi outfits turn heads. There's no telling what kind of fantastic fashion innovations might come to science fiction as the genre grows.