Currently Channeling: Barbarella

We were wondering why the futurism on the runway seemed familiar and then it hit us—like a meteorite colliding with the moon—Barbarella is back! Many designers, from Donatella Versace to Hussein Chalayan to the Dolce & Gabbana fellows, must have placed the 1968 sci-fi erotica in their Netflix queues prior to creating their Spring 2007 lines. The film, starring Jane Fonda and directed by Roger Vadim, featured costumes designed by legendary 60’s favorite Paco Rabanne. His barely-there creations of mesh, metallics, and plastic breastplates simultaneously site outer space and S&M.

We like how Cate Blanchett (in Versace) and Cameron Diaz (in Gucci) chose Barbarella-like pieces for recent premieres. While the neck detail on Diaz’s dress could look at home in a dominatrix’s den, her soft makeup makes the overall ensamble look fresh. The gold metallic bust on Blanchett’s gown recall an invincible warrior tasked with saving the world (exactly the movie’s plotline, un-coincidentally). While Barbarella was a box office bust at the time, we think the current fashion riff on the film is out of this world.