Designers Dress Up the Past as the Future

“An Exhibition of Science Fiction and Fantasy,” a display of costumes from recent films now at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences through Nov. 13, allows viewers to examine closely the stuff contemporary dreams are made on.

“I think the field of fantasy and science fiction is the one area in which artists who design for the screen are allowed to give their vision free reign,” says Elois Jenssen, who chaired the committee of the Costume Designers Guild that assembled the show. “In modern or period films, you’re held back by the script, but when you go into the future, your imagination can soar.”

The exhibit also reveals how often designers’ flights of fantasy rely on the past to evoke the future. The evil sorceresses, alien ambassadors and starship troopers of contemporary fantasies turn out to be so many medieval princesses, Roman generals and crusading knights with a few high-tech touches.

Robert Fletcher’s costumes for the Klingon Ambassador in “Star Trek I” and Sarek’s Guard in “Star Trek III” are basically adaptations of a Roman general’s uniform, with extra tassels, elaborate gold jewelry and modern boots. With some minor changes in the design of his crimson helmet, the Imperial Guard in “Return of the Jedi” (by Agnes Guerard Rodgers and Nilos Rodis-Janero) would be virtually indistinguishable from the knights who fought Saladin under Richard the Lion-Hearted.

“Those images from the past represent power,” explains Jenssen. “Even as an underlying theme, they suggest great power.”

The women’s costumes tend to be more revealing, but display similar affinities with the past. If the plastic pendants were removed, Julie Weiss’ elaborate gown for the Sorceress in “Masters of the Universe” would look right at home in the court of Eleanor of Aquitaine. A chorus girl in the Ziegfeld Follies could easily have worn the swags of pearls that comprise Jean-Pierre Dorleac’s minimal garment for Princess Ardala in “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.”

The most original costumes in the show are Jenssen’s creations for “TRON”: The computer circuitry patterns on the jump suit for the Wounded Warrior suggest a future in which machines influence every aspect of life. The Obsolete Program, a three-dimensional collage of wires, resistors and odd bits of electronic junk, resembles one of the fuzzy creatures in Ed Koren’s New Yorker cartoons.

An accompanying exhibit of photographs traces the evolution of science-fiction films from Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis” to the present. The elegant Art Deco styling of the films from the ‘30s looks more futuristic and sophisticated than the fussier designs of recent years. (Lang’s influence can still be seen in contemporary works like Robert Abel’s computer-animated “Sexy Robot” commercial for tin cans.)

Although many of the costumes on display are intricately detailed, it’s not clear how practical it would be to wear those swirling capes and padded jumpsuits for more than a few hours. Respected young science-fiction writers like Greg Bear, Vernor Vinge and Gregory Benford are moving away from descriptions of elaborate costumes and stressing simpler, more practical garments for their characters. If Hollywood follows their lead, a similar exhibit in 10 years would probably feature sleeker, more wearable designs.

The exhibit is installed in the lobby of the academy at 8949 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills. Information: (213) 278-8990.