Express fashion woman

What to wear: a look into the future of fashion

Science fiction may not have a great track record at predicting developments in technology or politics--nobody, for instance, foresaw the rapid miniaturization of computer power--but it has an even worse record when it comes to fashion. The futuristic uniforms portrayed on Star Trek and in endless SF movies amuse fashion forecaster Haysun A. Hahn, creative marketing director of Promostyl USA. "You'd think we'll all be wearing uncomfortable molded rubber outfits," she laughs. Rather, she predicts, "clothes will express individuality and be flexible enough to do whatever we want whenever we want. Fabric will be pliable, liquid, a material that responds to our imagination so you can wear fuzz in the summer, no coat in the winter. We won't need so many clothes."

That vision might seem elusive, but several social, economic, and technological trends point toward an increasingly comfortable, versatile clothing style that evades narrow fashion dictates. The election of President Bill Clinton is both an expression and a reinforcement of this emerging Zeitgeist, according to fashion pundits. "The emphasis on a casual lifestyle has to do with a broad democratization that's been going on throughout the century. There's been a societal trend not to place as much emphasis on clothing to express status and formality," says consumer behavior specialist Gernd Schmitt, associate professor of business at Columbia University.

So it was that the voters ousted aristocrat George Bush and instated Bill Clinton, who sports a more casual style. According to Tom Julian of the Fashion Association, "Clinton is showing that you can loosen up, wear a softly constructed suit with no vents, beesom pockets, low-notched lapel, and feel good in it. The guy has a very strong presence when you're looking at him in a sea of traditionally cut blue suits." Julian adds that informal surveys show that where five years ago men's retailers sold two suits for every sport coat, today it's two sport coats for every suit.

The spirit of the Clinton Administration may be reverberating in women's fashion, too. Though Hillary Cinton's apparel choices are sometimes panned, her attitude foreshadows the working woman's future, according to Lorye Watson, fashion historian at Parsons Institute of Design. "She goes to people she trusts, gets serviceable clothes in wonderful colors, wears them over and over, and doesn't spend a lot of time on it. That's what thinking women are doing."

Ruth P. Rubinstein, a professor of sociology at the New York Fashion Institute of Technology, provides a broader view of current fashion trends set by the First Lady. She describes the look as "power dressing"--that is, more professional, less vulnerable, and less revealing. "If you look at the vocabulary of images accumulated in Western society," she explains, "you'll note that when people feel powerless or vulnerable, their bodies are more exposed."

The future may see much less differentiation between men's and women's fashions as well. Crossovers in fabric and color reflect the changing roles of men and women in our society. And with the emphasis on versatility and comfort, new synthetic fabrics will become increasingly important. Promostyl USA's Hahn expects to see fabrics that "function on their own." For example, "mod fabric," now in development, has beads woven in that adjust heating and cooling to body temperature. She also foresees clothes that won't need finishing seams when sewn nor drying when washed, stretch materials that fit all, and even fibers with intrinsic fragrance.

Future fashion? It may not be Star Fleet uniforms, but, hey, we don't have to dress like George Bush either.