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Futuristic Design Contests have been around in their current form since the mid to late 1970s. Bjo Trimble started the trend for Future Fashion Folios with Future Fashion shows during early Equicons (1971-72). The tradition continues annually at Costume-Cons. Other conferences and conventions have done these contests intermittently.
Costume-Con conferences run “Futuristic Design Contests as juried competitions. These judges are generally designers and/or costumers in their own right. Judges are usually selected by the person running the Design Contest, the Future Fashion Folio Director.
Designers from all over the world enter their designs into the competition. In these contests, designers do not have to be members of the Costume-Con for which they are run. Nor are they required to be members of the International Costumer’s Guild, or even active costumers. They just have to be people who would like to try their hand at design. There is no limitation to a designer’s age. (Children have entered, won categories and had their costumes made up.) This is a great place for students to start showcasing their designs. Oh, and Aliens are welcome too — just let us know what planet to mail your folio to.
Categories vary from contest to contest because of the kinds of entries received. For some reason, every year one category seems to get a lot of entries and this category varies from year to year. One year during a Star Trek Convention, we got several entries for Ladies of the Evening. The next year, at that same convention, we got a lot of maternity outfits. We always wondered about that particular sequence. Other contests choose a specific theme to shape the design contest.
Some of our standard categories that repeat year after year are:
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children & teenagers |
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sportswear – including sports not yet invented |
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leisure wear |
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lingerie |
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business wear |
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uniforms – civilian or military (everyday and dress) |
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daywear |
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hostess wear |
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formal wear |
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accessories – from shoes to jewelry to phones and computers |
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entertainers – singer, actors, dancers |
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heavy worlders |
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aliens |
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ethnic outfits |
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peudo-historical |
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festival wear |
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vampires – any era past or present |
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the current “hot” science fiction shows on TV |
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classic science fiction shows |
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books – either based on the world or a description within |
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ceremonial and/or religious wear |
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court wear |
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couples |
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weddings |
We get designs for men, women, children, pets, and various kinds of aliens. Whatever the design, what we are looking for is the design idea, not artistic (drawing) skill. If you need help drawing a shape on which to place your design, check out our figures outlines.
The aim is for these to be clothes that someone might actually wear. Unless clothing is for a theatrical performer or religious wear, take the person’s movement into consideration (how will this person perform their job wearing their outfit).
Because this is a Future Fashion contest, not all designs need to be “constructable” in currently existing materials. However, it is fun to create a design that someone will build. Instructions or fabric suggestions can be included.