This story is part of a series, Past/Present, highlighting images and articles from Vogue that have personal significance to our editors.
If I had to divide my interests into two categories, they would be science fiction and fashion. And it turns out that time travel, robots, and big ideas align perfectly with the world of style. Both genres are future-focused, hypothesizing “what if” scenarios that portray humanity at its most daring and inventive. Both absorb references to create something new and exciting; and both filled me with a sense of possibility when I was a child. The thrill of watching a transformative runway show isn’t far off from the excitement I felt in the middle of watching the Star Wars trilogy. George Lucas’s space opera came into my life around the same time I discovered Vogue, and the two are forever linked in my consciousness.
As complementary as fashion and science fiction are, they don’t intersect all that often. But to its credit, Vogue has always looked forward when it comes to style; as such, there have been countless stories with a sci-fi feel. Steven Klein’s femmebot housewives, Raymond Meier’s high gloss machines, and Craig McDean’s transformation of Karlie Kloss into a member of Daft Punk have all made for compelling shoots. Still, my first and favorite exploration of fashion meets futurism was Irving Penn’s 1999 masterpiece, “Star Wars Couture.”
In this photographic exploration of costume designer Tricia Biggar’s work from The Phantom Menace Penn doesn’t aim for the glossy austerity often associated with sci-fi. Instead, the clothes are presented in the way a prized look from the runway would be. Penn’s constants—an empty studio, a pale backdrop—replace the multi-layered CGI heavy world Natalie Portman’s Padmé Amidala inhabits in the movie. At the same time, Phyllis Posnick gives the pieces a subtle remix to connect them to the concept of couture. Those choices are fitting: Star Wars is as much about the past—radio serials, westerns, and samurai lore all served as catalysts for its creation—as it is about the future.