Mashion: Anthropometry and Reverse Influence
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Earth 2044
Mars Fashion has become synonymous with commercial anthropometry, the study and measurement of the human body for consumer products. Photograph by Andy Shell.
Mars Fashion has taken Earth by storm.
Mars Fashion, or “Mashion,” as the term has been coined by Masque magazine Editor-in-Chief Raquelle Hahm, includes apparel and footwear that feature technologies and materials used in Mars spacesuits or clothing. Since the start of commercial colonization on Mars, large apparel and footwear retailers on Earth have experienced significant demand for Mars Fashion products. Some apparel manufacturers have also engaged in Mars-inspired marketing and branding efforts, as they identified many terrestrial consumers who prefer to wear clothing that is similar to their Martian peers.
“Commercial anthropometry: the study and measurement of the human body for consumer products”
Developments in commercial anthropometry, the study and measurement of the human body for consumer products, contributed to the rapid growth of Mars Fashion. Using almost any camera equipped device, such as smartphones or home assistants with spatial learning hardware and software, consumers can create accurate three-dimensional renderings of their bodies. The use of new camera technologies and artificial intelligence has allowed for full 3D-mesh renderings using even simple RGB images. The apparel and footwear industry has embraced these new technologies by giving consumers the ability to scan and send their exact measurements, posture, and gait to retailers.
““Anyone who has any interest in traveling to Mars will most certainly purchase some form of Mars Fashion””
Athletic apparel and footwear retailers have the most to benefit from commercial anthropometry. Large athletic apparel retailers, like SAVEN, have optimized manufacturing and operations to deliver custom anthropometric clothing to consumers using same day delivery. Azalia Vivaldia, CEO of SAVEN, states that “Martian technologies, anthropometry, and dyes are beginning to arrive at the doorstep of our core consumer base. Anyone who has any interest in traveling to Mars will most certainly purchase some form of Mars Fashion.”
In the early years of commercial Martian colonization, only smaller, more exclusive design houses manufactured and sold Mashion. Early consumers paid a premium to wear materials or technologies from the Red Planet, such as dyes created from Martian soil. The popularization of Mars Fashion began to spread with Dispersion Entertainment Park’s Year of Mars in 2062, Masque fashion and lifestyle magazine’s “Year of Mashion,” and the popularity of models on Mars like Katia James—the highest paid model in 2063.
Mashion on Earth has even influenced fashion on Mars, as the creative interpretations and usage of Mars apparel technologies on Earth have been adopted by several Martian designers.
Rachel Diaz, CEO of WARE—one of the largest lifestyle fashion outlets on Mars—highlights that “the designers on Earth are sometimes more creative in the application of Martian spacesuit technologies to everyday comfort wear on Earth. These new applications have inspired us to reevaluate the way we design clothes for settlers on Mars. In fact, we recently hired four Mashion designers from Earth.”
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