How to design Costumes for Scifi Stories?

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Science Fiction is all about designing a unique but believable world. Clothes and design are part of the visual storytelling. This blog will help you on the way to start designing the objects of your scifi world by using world building techniques.

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The Role Costume Design in Genre Pieces

A Genre Piece is a piece of fiction set in a recognisable genre. Science-fiction is one of those recognizable genres. There are multiple forms that science fiction can take on. Your design choices inform the audience what type of scifi they’re looking at. 

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There are generally three types of science fiction: 

• Hard Science Fiction
• Soft Science Fiction
• Science Fantasy

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Same as for Hard Magic and Soft Magic, science fiction has similar camps. Hard science fiction relies on actual science to build their world. Inventions made in these stories could be real, if only science was a bit further along. 2001 A Space Odyssey is an example of Hard Science Fiction. Soft Science fiction however, includes more experimental or unrealistic science. Sunshine, for example, is a Soft Science fiction movie. Science Fantasy is an actual mix of fantasy and science fiction. These types of stories can contain highly improbable science, or even magic. Such as Prometheus.

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These genres do not have hard borders! Stories can go from hard science-fiction to science fantasy as the story evolves. It's just a usefull thing to keep in mind while writing the story, to keep your world building on the rails.

For character and costume design, this distinction in genre helps in the design process. Science Fantasy stories are more lenient when it comes down to the realism of costumes. In Hard Science Fiction, everything has to look, feel and work in a believable way.

Costume design is a visual storytelling technique that tells the viewer a lot about what type of story they’re looking at. When the designs are incoherent with the story, the viewer will fail to believe or engage with your world.

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Break Down the Worldbuilding

For the costumes, there generally are four main areas you should pay attention to:

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Climate

• Does the climate have a visible influence on the way people dress?
• How much does fashion differ from climate to climate?
• How does the climate relate to the culture of dress?

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Government 

• Are there any laws that dictate who can wear what?
• If so, how are these laws enforced, for how long have they existed and when will they be rewritten?
• How are ranks, status or royalty visible in dress? 

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Technology

• What type of materials are the people of this world able to create?
• How are weapons, gadgets or other tools worn? 
• Is there a difference in technology from culture to culture?

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Culture 

• What is considered fashionable or tasteful? 
• What do outdated or unfashionable clothes look like?
• How much does taste and fashion differ between people, ranks, races, cultures, etc? 
• What type of dress are considered good manners, and what is vulgar?

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I hope you can now see why determining your genre is so important.

When dealing with Science Fantasy and various un-human races, you could ask yourself whether dragons wear hats and if warm-bodied creatures can be naked in the snow. On the other hand, questions about technology are much more relevant for Hard Science Fiction. By knowing the parameters of your genre, you know better which story elements of the world carry more weight.

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Just by asking the right questions, you can discover the world and its characters you are designing for. This blog offers World Building questions for Costume and Character Designers. These questions go further than just genre. They dive into the ins and outs of your world, and the characters that move within. 

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Reference Reality

I always take “there is nothing new under the sun” with a big grain of salt. Because first there wasn’t Star Wars, and then there was. However, it is true that everything references something. And that reference probably referenced something else as well. Star Wars as a movie references Samurai movies. Costume Designer John Mollo was an expert in the field of military design. These two elements together in a fantasy setting created something that feels very fresh. 

Authentic designs are created when carefully chosen design-references meet intriguing worldbuilding.

‍You need to give your audience something to grip onto in order to understand your world visually. A medieval aesthetic signals the lack of technological advancement. References to the 70’s Space Age designs feel optimistic, modern and futuristic. Understand these visual languages, and you’ll be able to immerse your audiences without drowning them in exposition. 

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World Building Workshop 

If you’re a writer or filmmaker with an original idea, you might want to brainstorm with your team. Blauw Films has a Building Worlds Document specifically for this purpose. This document is filled with food for thought. Alternatively, if you’re writing a story, you might want to think about its structure. The Building Worlds Storytelling document helps you to create the foundations of a fictional story.

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Conclusion

World building is not only extremely important, it’s also extremely fun! It allows for a complete Blue Horizon mindset; everything is still possible! The sky is the limit. 

If you had not noticed already, we love world building at Blauw Films. It’s the very foundation for all of our stories. Have a peek behind the scenes of how we build our worlds. This blog is about the World Building Questions asked for the Hazmat Suit design in our scifi film Syntactic Labyrinths. 

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