This week, Y-3 has secured its place in history by becoming the first fashion label to design the clothing of astronauts. Teaming up with Virgin Galactic, the creative collaboration between Yohji Yamamoto and Adidas has revealed the prototypes of space suits that will be worn on the world’s first commercial spaceflight.
The stylish sportswear brand has been commissioned to design flight suits and boots to be worn by pilots, maintenance teams, hosting staff and passengers. The initial concept was for the garments to be inspired by classic aviation clothing and injected with the futuristic style that has become synonymous with Y-3. Lawrence Midwood, Senior Director of Design for the brand concluded that the end result needed to look “heroic”.
In a project of this scale aesthetics were required to take a backseat as functionality became the key factor. Research led the label to Adidas’ innovation department where previous exploration into the construction of NASCAR clothing was found particularly useful.
The spacesuit and boots, now in prototype stage, feature advanced materials like fire resistant Nomex Meta Aramid, Traxiontm lugs for grip and adiPrene inserts for its shock absorbing properties. The items will now be tested to meet the exacting standards required and if deemed suitable will blast off with Virgin Galactic in 2017.
