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The 60s mod aesthetic was my gateway into exploring fashion. Something about the clean silhouettes, shift dresses, collars, mini skirts, mary janes and knee high socks makes my heart sing and yearn for more. ‘60s mod-inspired fashion have been slowly making a resurgence on the runway. This is the first time since the peak of twee where mod inspired fashion has returned to the spotlight. Dior’s 88 look SS22 collection featured mod-inspired skirt suits and shift dresses, while Loewe’s SS22 shows stand out pieces were space-aged armor bodices. Hell, even I predicted the return of mod last June.

Put it all together, flip it and reverse it and you have a modernized take on retro inspired futurism with a space aged cherry on top. The time is nigh! Today we’re deep diving into all the major mod revival themes and revisiting some iconic historical trend moments.

The space race in the 1960s is credited as the cultural movement that kicked off this trend; a symbol of progress and exploration. The Jetsons, retro futurism interiors + architecture, and fashion designers all took inspiration from the space race leading up to the launch of Apollo 11 in 1969.

Something I find interesting about this trend is it seems like whenever economic turmoil reaches new lows, displays of retro futurism follow. There are several reasons mod + retrofuturism are making such a strong comeback, and the state of the economy is certainly intertwined.

Courreges Spotlight

There were plenty of literal representations of what space-aged + futuristic fashion looked like, my favorite example is this absolutely incredible astronaut-adjacent look below from Courreges in 1993, and his “Moon Girl” collection from 1964. Most of his work takes inspiration from futuristic fabrication (the civil engineering background comes in handy after all) blended in perfect harmony with classic ‘60s silhouettes. It’s no secret how much I covet Courreges, he was one of the first designers I latched onto and his work inspires me to this day.

Hyper realism graphics, Jean Paul Gaultier Y/Project, Indie Brands

JPG has been playing with elements of futurism and hyper realism for decades. These hyperrealist prints are typically adorned on skintight garment to really highlight the expertly placed designs, i.e. wearable art. Bizarre and uncomfortable, in a good way.

JPG’s hyper realistic catsuits from the 90s on every Depop girl’s wishlist. Catsuits have been on every trend prediction report for 2022, and in my opinion the reason behind this points to the overarching futuristic trend. Just yesterday JPG and Y/Project showed their collab for FW22 filled with hyperrealism graphics.

Emerging brand Syndical Chamber pictured below has been experimenting with hyper realistic human figure graphics on their garments. While it does resemble JPGs early work, I feel like this is a super fresh twist on the trend.

Looking Ahead

The question on everyone’s mind is, how will this trend revival manifest on the runway? The answer is already slinking down the catwalk. My prediction is a mix of soft + sweet mod silhouettes and cuts, like skirt suits, peter pan collars, knee high socks and bows mixed with harder elements like metallics, metals and hyperralistic prints.

More inspiration

I also made a Tiktok about my undying obsession with this trend and a Pintrest board for even more inspo.

I hope you enjoyed this special edition and thank you for allowing me to gush about my favorite era in fashion. If you enjoyed, please subscribe! I have a free option and $6 per month, both options support my content and I’m so grateful you’re here <3

-Mandy

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