It was held on May 25 the “Couture in Orbit” fashion show, an ambitious project promoted and organized by the European Space Agency (ESA) in conjunction with the Science Museum in London, in which Vibram has been involved as a partner.
“Couture in Orbit” was conceived with the aim of bringing together - in an unusual and inventive manner - two very different worlds, fashion and space technology. To forge the link between these two, a team of students from five prestigious universities, including the Polytechnic University of Milan, set to work to design and create a collection of garments inspired by life in orbit on a space station, drawing inspiration from the most innovative wearable technologies and applying their ingenuity and creativity to state-of-the-art fabrics and finishes. These are clothes designed for “earthlings” but fitted with space-age devices and technologies which will increasingly find applications in everyday life. From the various designs submitted in the course of the project, thirty garments were selected to appear on the catwalk at the Space Fashion Show, which took place yesterday at London’s Science Museum before an enthusiastic audience of fashion experts and museum visitors.
To complete the outfits created by the students from the Polytechnic University of Milan there were six exclusive Vibram designs specially made for the occasion. On the catwalk the famous Vibram FiveFingers®, the innovative five-toed shoe, designed to guarantee maximum grip and stability even in space, alternated with original versions of Furoshiki the wrapping sole, the travel shoe par excellence, ideal for journeys even beyond the earth’s atmosphere. The mood is futuristic and spatial, with uppers in shades extolling nuances of grey, with touches of aqua green and embellished with metallic micro-appliqués. The sole is made in the exclusive Vibram “Glow in the Dark” compound, with fluorescent pigments that light up at night. Alongside Vibram FiveFingers® and Furoshiki the wrapping sole, there were also shoes with the Vibram Smart Sole. This is the newest member of the Vibram family, whose initial prototypes were previewed during 2015, bringing the world of wearable technology to footwear too. Vibram Smart Sole is an “intelligent” sole, fitted with built-in technology which can interact with the user: GPS navigation system, gas-detection sensors and uppers illuminated by fibre optics that change colour. A product capable of offering a genuine and unique experience of visual and sensory communication.
Products unique in concept and futuristic in style for an exceptional fashion show which - after the success of its London debut - is scheduled for a series of dates in Italy, Denmark, France and Germany, the other countries which joined the United Kingdom in this initiative by the International Space Station. For Vibram, always a supporter of innovation and an investor in research, a collaboration that confirms the company’s mission to look ever further… to space itself!