A group made up of six women, including the American singer Katy Perry and the journalist and promised of Jeff Bezos, Lauren Sánchez, starred in the first exclusively female suborbital flight aboard the New Shepard, a rocket developed by the Blue Origin company.
The capsule took off from western Texas and exceeded 100 kilometers of altitude, crossing the karm line, conventional threshold between the earth’s atmosphere and the outer space. During the ten minutes that worn the journey, the passengers experienced microgravity conditions, moving freely inside the capsule.
Several images on social networks were a trend for this factand many Internet users wondered the design of the space costumes that highlighted for their comfort, safety and visual aesthetics.
Lauren Sánchez, in times to make the flightHe explained that the choice of costumes was not a superficial detail, but a decision with historical and technical connotations.
In an interview with The New York Times, he said that space costumes are usually designed for men and, in any case, they adapt to women, if such adjustment is made.
Starting from that base, Sanchez associated with the Monse brand to redesign the flight costumes. The objective was to reverse this logic of secondary adaptation and conceive garments designed from the beginning for female bodies. The redesign did not pursue only an aesthetic motivation, but responded to functional needs, comfort and representation.
The costumes used by the six Blue Origin passengers were made by Creative Character Engineering firm. They moved away from the usual brilliant polyester in the original models of the company and opted for fire resistant elastic neoprene. This choice allowed greater flexibility and resistance, in line with the requirements of the spatial environment.
At the design level, The suit was presented as an entire body monkey with a compression layerlightweight mandarin neck and double front zip that simulates an opening to the waist.
They also incorporated side zippers into the calves to achieve a acampanado visual effect, evoking certain elements of the Star Trek costumes and the classic Elvis costumes in Las Vegas, according to Sánchez.
To guarantee precise adaptation, each member of the flight was subjected to a three -dimensional body scan. This allowed to make a custom suit, eliminating discomfort and improving mobility in microgravity conditions.
Also, the design incorporated a darker degraded effect on the sides, designed to shade the body and visually stylize the figure.
As for pockets, The redesign introduced small compartments into the armswhile those that are usually located on the legs were eliminated, because they generated too much volume. These types of decisions reflected special attention to female bodily proportion and movement experience within the capsule.
The aesthetic proposal sought to combine functionality with an expression of feminine power and authenticity. Lauren Sánchez said they wanted each woman to feel powerful and authentic without sacrificing her personal style.
This approach represented a break with the traditional functionalist aesthetics of space costumes, orienting towards a vision that recognizes body diversity and identity values in aerospace design.
Far from proposing a “female version” of the male suit that has been used in most space trips, it was an autonomous creation since its conception.
