FashionMag.com anticipated it last December: outer space has inspired high fashion in the 'Couture in Orbit' project, promoted by the European Space Agency (ESA) together with London's Science Museum and five European fashion academies. The objective is to design clothes for the future that are comfortable and practical, exploiting space technology and the information and experience acquired on the International Space Station (ISS). 

Fashion academies from the UK, France, Denmark, Germany and Italy (as well as Milan's Polytechnic University) have contributed to the project. These are the European countries whose astronauts have taken turns to man the ISS between 2014 and 2016. Thanks to the collaboration between astronauts, space experts and fashion academies, everything that was learned and tested in orbit will be coming back to Earth as hi-tech clothing, capable of improving our daily life.

A theme was assigned to each academy, such as technology, the environment, innovation, health and sport. The clothes must also be practical, suitable for everyday use. ESA will supply space-certified fabrics, and each dress must incorporate technologies that ensure renewable energy generation, in order to regulate body temperature and perspiration. The project will culminate in a fashion show in May at London's Science Museum, where the designers selected for the final will admire their creations on the catwalk.