The all-female flight NS-31 is set to launch into space on April 14.
Katy Perry, Lauren Sánchez, and Gayle King will join former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, bioastronautics research scientist and civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, and filmmaker Kerianne Flynn on board the spaceflight.
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In an interview with the New York Times, Sánchez explained that she reached out to Oscar de la Renta creative directors and co-founders of the fashion brand Monse, Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim, to see if they would design the space suits.
“I was like: right away!” Garcia said.
Still, “We really didn’t know where to start,” Garcia continued. “There’s no precedent. All the references are men’s spacesuits.”
The blue jumpsuits are made of flame-resistant neoprene, as opposed to the polyester-looking fabric of the original men’s suit.
Because the team will not be leaving the rocket, they did not need to incorporate the life-support system of the classic astronaut suit.
However, they still had to work within technical specifications.
“Simplicity was important, and comfort, and fit,” Garcia told the NY Times. “But we also wanted something that was a little dangerous, like a motocross outfit. Or a ski suit. Flattering and sexy.”
In an interview with Elle, Sánchez said: "Who would not get glam before the flight?!"
"We’re going to have lash extensions flying in the capsule!"
"Space is going to finally be glam,” Perry added. “Let me tell you something. If I could take glam up with me, I would do that. We are going to put the 'ass' in astronaut."
For Nguyen, it’s important that the all-female crew represents the multidimensionality of women.
"I think it’s so important for people to see us like that," she Nguyen. "This dichotomy of engineer and scientist, and then beauty and fashion. We contain multitudes. Women are multitudes. I’m going to be wearing lipstick."
Not only has it been over 60 years since a woman travelled to space without a man, but women also make up about 11 per cent of those who have ventured there.
The six trailblazers will launch from Launch Site One in West Texas.
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