They LIED: Dystopian Fashion SUCKS
We're all going to die in elastic pants and an oversized t-shirt from Hot Topic...go ahead and eat that third taco :)
As we’ve just recently wrapped up the first season of HBO’s latest smash hit, “The Last of Us,” another post-apocalyptic zombie show with abysmal lighting, there was a lot to reflect on:
I had no idea video games could have such in-depth character development;
Pedro Pascal is living the same life (as an above-the-law savior type with a chip on his shoulder shepherding a baby to a place) in two alternate universes; TLOU and The Mandalorian;
Why don’t people dress up in post-apocalyptic societies anymore?
Mind you; the third reflection has some nuance. In almost all depictions of post-apocalyptic earth, people living in the lower rungs of society generally wear colorless, dirty, and shapeless garments to signify that life has gotten progressively worse because the only thing that will truly outlive the end of the world aside from cockroaches is human greed.
But man, where is the flavor? The razzle-dazzle? The dystopian couture? Or are we so close to the end that we’ve finally realized Chanel savant and resident mean girl Karl Lagerfeld (RIP Karl) was right: “Sweatpants are a sign of defeat. You lost control of your life, so you bought some sweatpants.” Defeated, tired and broke, we’ve given up. Given the current state of things, there’s one thing I know: The revolution may be televised, but it damn sure won’t be fashionable.
The End is Nigh…And Has Been for Thousands of Years
Humanity has been fascinated with the end times since probably the beginning of…times. The Book of Revelation in the Christian Bible was likely written around 96 CE. Other ancient civilizations had distinct end-of-the-world lore; there’s even a name for the field of study: eschatology (from Greek, éskhatos, meaning “last”).
An Assyrian clay tablet dating back to 2800 BCE claimed that the world was in its “final days” and was slowly deteriorating into corruption because, and this is a direct translation, kids no longer listened to their parents, and politicians were taking bribes.
Sounds familiar, huh?
We’ve been predicting the end of the world. As recently as 11 years ago, many people were convinced that a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican long calendar had accurately predicted that on December 21, 2012, the world was going to end. The now-debunked (obviously) theory was so widespread that ABC News had a live countdown, with check-ins at major cities around the world.
So it makes perfect sense that our obsession with doomsday became a popular media genre. You can trace apocalyptic fiction back to the 19th century as a sub-genre of science fiction. But it seemed to pick up post-World War II, which again makes sense, what with the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In the following 40 or 50 years, we got some dystopian classics: Planet of the Apes, Mad Max, Blade Runner and the Terminator Franchise, to name a few.
One thing all of the above films had in common was style. Sure, robots were coming for John Conner (I think, I’ve never actually seen “The Terminator”), but dammit, didn’t they look great?
The Apocalypse Used to Look a LOT More Glamorous
Post-apocalyptic films of the 60s and 70s reflected our obsession with burgeoning fears of fast-advancing technology and the accompanying grey morality. Though not part of the post-apocalyptic genre, 1975’s The Stepford Wives (based on the 1972 novel of the same name) underscored the fears of both societal changes due to second-wave feminism and how, perhaps someday, robots might replace at least some of us. One of my favorite camp dystopian films, 1976’s Logan’s Run (also based on a novel), also revolved around a moral dilemma: sure, you can have utopia, but everyone has to die at 30.
But honey, in those 30 years? EVERYONE was serving futuristic fashions, OK?
That’s the one thing you could count on in these awful dystopian societies: lewks would be served. And not just the ultra-wealthy, mind you. One could always identify the hero because they wore sleek fashions, and their hair was always perfectly done. In cult classics like Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), people didn’t let a little thing like eternal nuclear summer stop them from slaying (see Queen Tina Turner in the image above).
For a great example of just how fashionable the dystopia of the 60s/70s was, we can turn to the 1968 cult classic, Barbarella. Jane Fonda’s turn as the blonde, buxom space explorer tasked with saving planet earth was outfitted by Spanish couturier Paco Rabanne. Rabanne, who passed away last month at the age of 88, was one of the go-to designers of the swinging 60s. We can see why in Fonda’s sexy, high-fashion costumes. Through the early 90s, dystopian films didn’t skimp on fashion, even if they were sometimes greatly lacking in plot.
But as our interests changed, the end of the world wasn't as popular; vampires, Marvel, hobbits and orphaned wizards caught our attention for a while.
Until teenagers entered the picture.
Kids HAVE to Save the World. Why? Nobody Knows.
The YA Dystopian genre gold rush of the mid-2000s had studios churning out teens in camo gear faster than Tom Cruise running from basically anything in an action film. For a minute, we had three or four concurrent teen post-apocalyptic movie franchises happening simultaneously. Maze Runner, The Divergent Series, and The Hunger Games launched the careers of several young Hollywood A-List like Jennifer Lawrence and made millions at the box office. Lesser-known one-offs and failed franchises like The Giver, Ender’s Game, and The Fifth Wave didn’t fare as well but still attracted big-name talent like Harrison Ford and Meryl Streep.
These films had two things in common:
They were all based on a novel or book series (authors like Lois Lowry, Suzanne Collins, and Veronica Roth got very rich)
The costuming was either full-blown military chic or futuristic eleganza
I mean, come on, who can forget Elizabeth Banks’ turn as Effie Trinket in The Hunger Games? The first thing viewers noticed about the character was her vivid outfits, makeup and costumes. Effie’s look was partially inspired by the ostentation of Marie Antoinette and the French Court, which like the Hunger games, was on the verge of revolution.
Effie’s outfits were meant to contrast the drab garb viewers first see Katniss Everdeen in, signifying that even at the end of society, the clothes do indeed make the man.
Over on the Divergent side, actors Shailene Woodley and Theo James were often outfitted in the same militaristic style as Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games. Their clothing was sleek and expertly tailored, no matter how dire things seemed.
But as we confront the failures of modern society today, I can’t help but notice our entertainment reflects the blah feelings of folks today.
Society is Collapsing Around Us…Maybe.
Not to be dramatic, but there’s been something in the air the last few years (it could be societal collapse, IDK, Timothay Lake Chalet said it, not me). Between the Covid-19 pandemic, rising food and housing costs, the return of Jim Crow and a global housing/education/healthcare/everything else crisis, folks are tired.
Last year, during a re-reading of Octavia Butler’s masterpiece, 1993’s Parable of the Sower, I ran across this hilarious and truthful tweet from writer Molly Priddy:
And something about it hit home for me. Since the beginning of the pandemic, I have transitioned to working entirely from home, and while I feel that things are personally going OK for me, the world at large is giving very much, “let’s just end things here” vibes. The Last of Us, in particular, is so harrowing because, much like Covid-19, the virus reached this critical mass, and then humankind couldn’t do anything except sit by and watch the world, and society, along with it, go down. Not in fantastic flames or a nuclear bomb, but quietly, over many years, nature reclaimed the land while we meekly made do around it.
And perhaps this feeling was further spurned by last year’s passing of French fashion designer, perfumer, and couturier, Thierry Mugler. But I have to wonder WHY I’m not wearing robot couture yet. Surely, by now, we’ve wholly entered the Matrix, but I am not serving trenchcoat meets wet look leather slick-backed bob and shades like Trinity. Nope, I’m sitting here in bleached sweatpants and a pair of slippers that needed to be replaced a good six months ago.
Maybe Karl was right; we’ve lost control of our lives and society, so now we’re all collectively wearing sweatpants. Or, this isn’t actually the apocalypse; maybe our comfy duds are a sign that we still have hope and better days are ahead. When you need to get to work, what are you going to wear: cargo pants or a leather bib onesie?
If all things go south and this IS the end of human civilization as we know it, I have one request: for a little while, at least, let’s all play dress up. What’s the use in going extinct while looking terrible? Pick a struggle, humanity.