A ‘what if’ piece of speculative fiction about a possible future that might result from the systemic forces changing our world. In addition to funding technology companies, billionaires are investing heavily in life extension technology. If successful, how might radically extended lifespans of the wealthy impact their pursuits? This postcard speculates on how long lifespans might impact the world of high fashion.
// Transcript of 2331 noosphere broadcast
“Welcome back to our fast-take coverage of the 2331 Spring/Summer debut of Vairë’s first solo fashion line.
For folks who have been closely following industry gossip, you are well aware of the scandal that Vairë caused when they left the well-established fashion house Amacarastië. This young rogue (at only 75) had started on the typical 30 year fashion apprenticeship with Amacarastië, but scandalously left after only a decade, citing the intellectual and stylist hardening of the firm's vision.
As Vairë themself said in an interview with the Fashion AI Collective CC three years ago: “Major fashion houses, Amacarastië included, have used the radical extension of human lifespans to create new gatekeeping mechanisms. Multi-decade apprenticeships are used to lock people in, extract their creativity, and lead to creative stagnation. I could feel my inner spark dimming, so I decided to jump into the unknown.”
“The gatekeepers of fashion, while looking the same, continue to get older and older. Every single top 20 Earth and Lunar fashion houses is helmed today by a designer over 176 years old. Amacarastië’s head is well north of 250 years! Thanks to the intersection of publicity, wealth, and beauty, the fashion industry was a natural place for “lifetec” firms to demonstrate and promote their life-extension technologies.
The theme of Vairë’s collection is “Deep Woods”. Each piece aims to evoke the presence, mystery, and solitude of the ancient groves. Each piece is formed from bioengineered silk. Through a secretive Ñoldor technique, Vairë’s fashion-house uses nanite-infused silk worms that generate cocoons infused with quantum-balance veins. Once the moths hatch from the cocoons, the cocoons are processed and spun via EM fields into strands for weaving. Each garment has an “eclipse” of the moths who generated the silk, with the moths acting as extensions of the garment’s computational capabilities.
Three pieces stood out during the runway show.
“Quenya” - The first piece set the stage for the show. Before they even appeared, a dark mist flowed from the entrance portal. The lighting dimmed and conversations became muted, not because people stopped talking, but it was as though the air became heavy, absorbing sound and light. All the modern net affordances, feeds, digital assistants, blipverts, and everything requiring a net connection, started to fade into the background. When the model Zenya finally entered, jaws dropped. The floor length black gown seemed to pull the light from the room, narrowing our focus from the omniverse to the immediate and very real world.
“Sindarin” - This stunning matte brown sack dress is alive with the stippling of light filtered through a leavy overhead canopy. Evoking the crisp and clean air deep within a grove, the garment creates an Oort cloud of detects and neutralizes nearby airborne nanties. Depending on the AI Geists and Muses of the wearer, even the perception of the physical world can be softened, changing blipverts and other visual intrusions into soft, muted forms.
“Phin” - A dark gray billowing cloud of fabric that flows with the wearer like mist hugging the trunks of trees just before daybreak. The garment ensures that the wearer flows through their world in the same way. The moths map the surrounding area and through gentle nudging and support, ensure that the wearer never stumbles, falls, or bumps into something without intention. The most dramatic moment of the runway walk of this outfit saw the model walk on air across the gap in a fallen tree trunk for several strides.
Note - this piece was published in Issue #10 of Cybr Magazine