[ Based on past posts, slightly extended. Thankful for comments and input, especially from people who know something about style. ] Clothing and fashion Clothing is all about sending social signals. Who you are, what you are, what you do, how much you can afford (in money, time and effort). That will not go away in the future. But new materials and environments will change some aspects noticeably. Everyday wear Smart clothing is everywhere, but most smart clothes are just the hardware foundation for people’s dressing: what really matters to many is to have the right cut and style. While it is easy to download some freeware cut online most people want to look better. This is both a matter of showing off more expensive custom-made designs and showing that the wearer knows how to dress tastefully (or at least have a muse with high-end fashion software). A common approach involves subscribing to clothing libraries, giving access to good designs and often some dressing support (letting subscriptions lapse can be embarrassing, as the fabric get ‘lapsed subscription’ or ‘demo mode’ as texture). Many have boxes of extra smart clothing material for those creations that require more fabrics. True fashionistas of course disdain the mere smart clothing since it will never be truly unique and authentic, but most people find it practical. Pockets have become uncommon, since most things needed in everyday life are either implanted, worn or could be carried by a bot. Smart clothes can still make pockets, if needed. They also often don’t need zippers or other fasteners, although typically similar-looking markers are used for decoration. Jumpsuits are surprisingly common despite the numerous predictions that earlier sf predictions of a future with jumpsuits would be off the mark. The reason is that they are practical in microgravity and the typical cramped, often dirty spaces the first colonists worked in. They are the ’jeans and t-shirts’ of space work, easy to get in and out of, able to fit with many space and environmental suits as needed. As time went on, they remained popular but obviously never seen as stylish. However, modern materials and cuts can make smart jumpsuits that partially hide what they are – but the real connoisseur will still see it a mile away, of course. A number of catsuit-like fashions and styles have emerged from the jumpsuits, of varying levels of respectability and utility. The jumpsuits tend to be heavily personalized - from sew-on patches (the *truly* traditional spacer look, favored by the extreme old-timers who might even have been on named missions) to image slideshows to interactive textures (when someone in your network approaches, patterns start to bounce between your clothes). Spacer youth jumpsuits are a riot of outrageous colors, shapes and patterns. New materials allow new forms of truly slacker clothing: smart clothing that merely optimizes itself for keeping you comfortable and modest by your society's standard yet doesn't look like anything. A bit like a t-shirt and jeans with absolutely no shape, just a comfortable blob that follows you around with some pleasing pattern. A common form of very light clothing is spray-on clothes. Local dress On Venus space is not a problem, so why not go for something expansive? A wide shirt or a dramatic cape would be impractical everywhere else, but here you can have fun. The combination of wide spaces, high gravity and an often air-inspired fashion industry tends to produce flowing and flying clothes and hairstyles. These do not carry over well in the rest of the solar system, making them very characteristic. Mars is somewhat unique in that it has a market for outdoors clothing and not just clothing that fits into an environment suit. Sensible shoes, gloves, breathing masks, and hats (the UV is nothing to sneeze at) are a Martian specialty. Gatecrashers often dress in Martian outdoorsman fashion, and this in turn has led to many people idolizing them to follow. On Mars dust is a perennial problem. Fines get in anywhere. This has made the breathing mask a common accoutrement, and then a subsequent target of style. It is regarded as ‘folksy’ or even a sign of poverty (well-off people tend to have aggressive air cleaning), but can be patterned in interesting ways – gangs in Noctis-Qianjao tended to use them for identification until the fashion industry picked it up and stole their designs. Skirts in microgravity are problematic, unless they are smart and move with you (complex, and hence slightly pricy; see the Any-Line option below) or are elastic sheaths. Many people instead use some form of leggings instead. In low gravity and especially microgravity ties are really hopeless. So they have either disappeared (but then something else has to give a color accent, show allegiances and style), and there is now, thanks to lunar fashion houses, a renaissance of tie bars, tie chains or even tie pins (which incidentally make nice assassination tools if poisoned). Similarly belts, being largely useless, have also become purely decorative (or a place to attach tools, for people with hands-on-jobs). Hats and shoes are also forced to change. Practically everybody live "indoors", so hats are not really necessary and troublesome in microgravity (again, Venus is the hat capital of the system!) There are various subtle hat-fastening approaches, or replacing them with a decoration braided into the hair (nanogrown crystals! biotech flowers! cats! Almost anything goes) or headscarves (popular among some autonomists). Hair nets, ranging from the invisible to the amazing, are fairly common in microgravity as floating hair tends to be annoying. Shoes in microgravity environments do not carry much weight and are mostly hygienic and aesthetic. The basic mocrogravity shoes help by attaching to surfaces, but people have invented endless variations from paw-like socks to replica leather shoes that are actually very soft to bizarre contraptions that allow limited propulsion. Generally, moving around in microgravity requires 'climbing' along walls, handrails, transport hooks that slide in tracks or the use of taxis-galleries (walls covered with cilia/gecko surfaces that drag you along). This means touching things other people have touched. In the justifiably paranoid aftermath of the Fall (and actually long before) spaces have tended to wear gloves. Some just use spray-on disposable nanogloves that are discarded after use, others have more upscale tailored gloves or clever nanomaterial gloves with fun extra features - animated patterns, germ sterilization, electroshocks, perfume or music, to name just a few. Bodies and clothes If you can afford a really cool morph, of course you will wear something that puts it in a good light. Not necessarily by going near-nude (although some skins, textures or muscular systems might merit it), but you definitely want to accent its features. What about hairstyles and coronets to emphasize your intellectual menton style? An oddly cut, yet very utilitarian suit that amps up the uncanny valley of your remade morph, showing that you are on the edge and the viewer isn't? A jaunty cowboy hat for your reaper? Distributed jewel mist for the lady swarmanoid? The possibilities are endless, and people are inventive. Clothing among uplifts varies. Generally neo-hominids have adopted human dress patterns with suitable alterations for tails, fur or body shape. Neo-avians usually use their feathers instead of clothing, although more or less tasteful accessories are common. Octomorphs, being poikolotherms, are slowed by low temperatures and occasionally use leg warmers and other clothing. However, making good clothing for underwater use is tricky due to the high thermal conductivity. People in synthmorphs also dress, at least in the more humanoid morphs or among people who try to pass. Many feel unconforable in “naked” synthmorphs, seeing themselves further dehumanized by lack of clothing and hence respond by dressing well. Synth radicals on the other hand find this to be buying into the culture of oppression and instead opt for adorning their nonbiological bodies directly. Some synthmorphs may come with more or less built-in clothing (like certain butlermorphs). Dressing up Formal dress has changed more slowly than most other clothing, simply because it is intended to be traditional. Black and white dresses, jackets and shirts remain the norm for major business events, although the cuts and designs have adapted to changed gravity and materials. Around Luna variants of national formal dress still pop up from time to time. The Qipao and Changshan – having a resurgence just before the Fall – are not uncommon on formal occasions around Mars, where the gravity is enough to make them work. The tie originated as a cravat, just like the business suit is a descendant of old military uniforms. There are new forms of formalwear based on current styles: the stylized leather jacket indicating that one is going for an evening of music and entertainment, the strict white uniform descended from lab-coats used in the military-academic complex of Jupiter (rank denoted by the ceremonial pens in the breast pocket), the t-shirt with a pertinent message autonomists wear to meetings. Not showing up with the right one is a faux pas. Fashion Exclusivity is a key point for fashion: it has to be unique and hard to get. Anything that can be simply copied or imitated will become unfashionable very rapidly. Many fashion houses have a kind of symbiosis with pirates and competitors: the faster the designs are copied, the faster the good customers will buy new designs. Some houses ensure exclusivity by using materials that are hard to copy; others try to ensure that it is the software of the clothes that makes them unique. The particular flutter of the Synctov fabrics is easily recognizable but how to make it is a closely guarded secret. By now most materials have been tried, from micro-chainmail transparent alumina (produces a dazzling diffraction pattern, revealing yet hiding the body) to tinitol wires to living furs. Aerogels and metamaterials are standard ingredients in everyday smart clothing. To get a truly unique material is hard, but when somebody comes up with an interesting new possibility it tends to briefly sweep the market. The big clothesware thing right now is the Lunar Any-Line, but that will soon be copied by all players since it is mostly field engineering. The current trend is towards making high fashion clothes where the exclusivity lies in the need for training to use them: this signals a significant investment in the piece, and makes it even harder to casually copy them. Handling a complex moving dress, a very smart swarm or a suit that broadcasts chemical invites requires more than just a big wallet. And of course, true haute couture is made directly for a single client and often involves a hefty dose of memetic engineering to spread rumors about the piece and its links to the owner: more of the value lie in the image than in the actual clothes. Living clothing Living clothing is well past its prime. When it burst onto the scene decades ago it was both radical in its use of bioengineered organisms (and with a bit of scandalous challenge to bioconservatives) and hard to copy. It still remains trickier than normal clothing to imitate, but much of the initial thrill is gone. These days living furs, suits or undergarments are just another part of the wardrobe. A somewhat troublesome part, since it requires nutrients and grooming most other clothes don’t, which has maintained slightly higher prices. Still, from time to time a designer manages to invent some new design worth wearing and it makes a brief resurgence. Swarm clothing Regulations surrounding civilian use of nanofacturing tend to be firm. Still, for some high fashion this is just the thing, and the problems with getting it in the inner system have just increased the demand for Titanian releases. Swarm clothing is literally a nanoswarm constantly moving to cover the wearer and keep them warm and comfortable. Some designs have swarm clothes that literally dissolve into flakes that float away at the edges, others have fuzzy clouds or pieces of cloth that float around the wearer, giving tantalizing glimpses of skin here and there but always maintaining modesty. Putting nanohives in smart clothing is controversial. Many people are strongly creeped out by hives and think they will be hacked by TITANs any moment. Standard swarm clothes tend to come as already assembled swarms released out of canisters, but some fashionistas prefer to wear hive jewelry or integrate it into their non-swarm clothing (after all, you do not want to be left swarmless). Other uses of worn hives include cleaners (for the hypochondriac), guardians (for the paranoid) and scouts (for the paparazzi). [Cost: as hive, plus blueprints] Clothing options Normal clothing come with a few standard options, like limited shape adjustment, changeable color, temperature control and enough smarts to link up to other meshed systems. But in this age of customization that is rarely enough for the spoiled customer. Typically, clothing options can be stacked. Some options tend to add bulk, making it harder to pass it off as an ordinary leisure dress and impairing the ability to change shape. Generally, the more features built into clothing the more it tends to misbehave in tough circumstances. A smartsuit perfect for casual use inside Valles-New Shanghai will not only stuggle with temperature control outside in the Martian weather, but also suffer from UV damage, dust overloading the cleaning abilities and the lack of mesh connectivity upsetting the texture buffers. A shapeshifting camouflage catsuit with hidden armor might be physically robust but also runs so much processing that it can be hacked. And so on. Temperature control The original purpose of clothes, and still important at least for comfort. Most smart clothing makes use of active temperature control that can heat up or cool down. Some older designs merely use smart materials like inflatable aerogels that can shift from being insulating to thermally conductive. While many clothes boast about keeping wearers comfortable from -40 to 70 C, they rarely point out the limitations: unprotected skin tends to freeze or blister, and the energy reserves tends to run out very rapidly, especially since the clothes are usually not very good at avoiding wasteful heat conduction and external losses. A typical suit battery will run out within minutes in a -40 environment. Old-fashioned variably insulating clothes often do much better. For people who know they are going to be hot evaporative cooling is usually more effective then nano-Peltier active cooling. The clothes invisibly sweat so you don’t have to, and as long as they have enough water and the atmosphere is not too moist this provides a great deal of comfort. [Cost: Low] Self repair If the clothing is not fully shapeshifting it is still sometimes practical to include repair nanomachines that heals unsightly holes and rips (you do not always have time to recycle and print anew). This works as built-in repair spray. [Cost: Moderate] Waterproofing A rare feature these days, except for when working in gardens or hydroponics sections (many inhabitants in larger habitats enjoy feeling the rain on their bodies, since it reminds them of home). However, superhydrophobic surfaces also make dirt or dropped food drip off, so most clothing is at least mildly rain resistant. Properly waterproofed clothing contains aquaporin analogs that can pump out moisture even when the outside is soaked: you can stay perfectly dry even at the bottom of a swimming pool (assuming your clothes doesn’t let in water around the neck). [Cost: Trivial] Any-Line clothing Using magnetic and electrostatic fields, the clothing controls the drape and movement so that it behaves itself under all gravities. This is *the* Lunar fashion signature for the moment. More useful for fashion than everyday clothing due to the interference with other equipment. [Cost: Moderate or High, depending on quality and complexity] Self-cleaning The surface has superhydrophobic surfaces, nanobots, cilia or other elements that allows it to clean itself. This means that a splashed drink, cream pie or paint bucket will slowly fall off into discrete droplets, leaving a pristine surface. The main exceptions are nano-active materials like “smart paint” that do their best to hang on. Like lotus coating it gives a +30 modifier when defending against liquid based attacks. [Cost: Trivial] Sensors Portable sensors [p. 325] can usually be integrated into clothing. Beside external sensors (anything from radar to x-rays) it is possible to have both nanosensors, biometrics and medical sensors for monitoring the wearer continuously. Many sensors must (obviously) be placed outside any shielding. [Cost: Moderate per modality] Shapechanging Quality of smart clothes is largely determined by how much they can change shape. The most basic kind can merely alter their size, adapting to the shape of the wearer but not truly change cut, material or style. The next level has some flexibility in shape and can change cut and style within fairly wide parameters. High class clothes also easily adapt to different kinds of fabric, becoming as thick or thin as needed. The best smart clothes are essentially fluid, smart polymorphic materials shepherded by nanomachines or essentially nanoswarms themselves. A few extremes go all the way to shape adjusting blobjects: they can be anything with the right mass. Even lower end smart clothes tend to have adjustable surface properties, making the cloth feel like something it isn’t. The effect is limited if the mechanics cannot imitate the full effect (e.g. a surface smooth as silk but thick and ungainly will not feel like it is a silk cloth), but still allows much customization. [Cost: basic (size change) Trivial, standard (cut and style) Low, high class (adaptive fabric) Moderate, premium (shape adjusting) High. ] Armor Light armor is occasionally a side effect of the use of sturdy nanofibers in making some smart clothing, but it is possible to improve armor performance much more by smart gels, graphene layering, and other wonders of material technology. Doing it without adding visible bulk, inconvenience or stiffness is another matter. [As per p. 312. Normal armor clothing has AV 3/4 and Trivial cost. Anything above that starts to become noticeable. Armor mods that can typically be included are ablative patches, chameleon coating, fireproofing, immunogenic system, offensive armor, refractive glazing, shock proof and thermal dampening. Some are more obvious than others. ] Shielding Some people like their privacy, despite the presence of IR, t-rays and other tools of the transhuman Peeping Tom. Adding a layer of superconductors, IR diffusion material or retroreflectors is not too hard and makes it much harder to see through the clothes. The shielding needs to specify what wavelengths it is against: radar, t-rays, IR, lidar measurements (visible light is usually handled by normal clothing), UV, x-rays or ultrasound. Layering them is possible but produces pretty bulky clothes. Note that parts of the body not covered by the clothes are still transparent. [Cost: Low, per modality.] Controllable optics Merely color-changing clothing is old hat. The real sign of quality is detailed control over the optical properties of the cloth, so that it reflects, refracts, scatters or shines in the right way. This is necessary to fully imitate certain materials or to give that latest shimmering effect. The high end of controllable optics supports chameleon cloak functionality or links with chameleon skin. Some very high end smart clothes are able to run holographic diffraction, essentially projecting nearly anything desired on and “in” the volume of the wearer. [Cost: normal, Low, holographic: Moderate ] AR projections While most people project avatars, decorations or other AR bling using their endos or ectos, a few like to link it to their clothing – or they are indelible parts of the brand, like the advertisement shirts handed out by hypercorps or the classy Charles River dresses where the animal patterns of the cloth textures leak into the surroundings and play in the background. [Cost: Trivial] Aura clothing Using a cloud of micro-aerostats or holography the clothing spreads out into the air. The “aura” can display pre-set patterns, emotional state or information related to the person. This is a step up from AR projections, since the display will be visible to anybody, not just people who tune into your public AR layer. [Cost: Low] Sensitive clothing Sensitive clothing has tactile sensors and link direct to the nervous system: a touch to the clothing feels like touch to the skin. Just the thing for the sensualist, or the practical engineer who prefers to work in the cryovats in a heated jumpsuit. [Cost: Moderate] Scent clothing Making scented clothing is easy, but smart materials also allows scents that shift depending on mood or situation. Some people have “scent wardrobes” with designer scents from fragrance creators. Another approach is scent logging clothes: nanosensors can record interesting smells, allowing them to be shared online or recreated (this has in the past led to some battles over piracy of trademarked scents, and the question of whether parody scents are protected speech). A few clothes even have “weapon scents” intended to repel people accosting the wearer or repel animals, although they are rarely very effective. [Cost: basic scent Trivial, variable scent production or scent logging Low. Weapon scents: Low] Defensive clothing Adding offensive armor [p. 313] to smart clothing (so that it can electroshock gropers) is possible, but requires some care (an insulating layer, avoiding touching the surface when firing). Another possibility is to have nanocompartments that can “sweat” a contact poison, irritant or drug. When released a touch (such as groping, being struck or grappling with the wearer) will allow the substance to come into contact with the enemy. Afterwards it can be re-absorbed in a few seconds. [ Cost: Low ] Medical clothing Clothes can release and produce substances that affect the wearer too. Antibacterial clothing has been around for ages, as well as cosmetic clothing that gently releases skin-conditioning substances to keep the skin absolutely perfect (a less elegant variant is the antipruritic substances released by under-clothes used while in space suits: handling itches when you are suited up was one of the major annoyances in early spaceflight). [Cost: as drug, typically Low] Some clothing sources Erato Fashion Federation: the key organization in the Lunar fashion industry, setting industry standards and organizing the Erato Fashion Week. It includes fashion houses such as Dominick Holbrook, Kimiko Kwang, Casalman, Domitille Matthieu and Vezzam. Skinthetics: besides their main activity as morph designers, the hypercorp produces various living clothes/pets such as fur-coats, boas, smart hats, crawling symbiotes or living handbags. They have close ties to the Extropian fashion industry, which often combines radical biotech with variants of Titanian fashions intended for the inner system. Galliato: fashion house in Noctis-Qianjiao, located at the entrance to the Kledingsbrug bridge. A leader in Martian haute couture, competing well with the Elysian houses. Dumont Building: complex in Noctis-Qianjiao, housing hundreds of independent clothing companies. Mainly ready-to-wear and mass market designs, often with individual customization services. Akida, Pukme & Lorenzo Fashions Titanian fashion industry