For former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, the flight suit designed for Blue Origin's first all-female flight crew is three things: "It's fashion, it's form, it's function." Courtesy of New York City-based luxury label Monse, the figure-hugging blue gradient suits were custom-made for crew members Gayle King , Lauren Sánchez , Katy Perry , bioastronautics research scientist Amanda Nguyen and film producer Kerianne Flynn for the Monday, April 14, mission to the edge of space . "I know people are saying, 'It's just fashion,'" Bowe told PEOPLE following the 11-minute mission, which took off from Launch Site One in West Texas.
"No, we went to space in the suit. It's fashion, it's form, it's function. And I love it because now we're seeing designers get into designing space suits.
" The scientist noted that she thinks traditional space suits need "some improvements when it comes to gender." "I had the opportunity to train with a NASA suit technician before this flight, and what I can tell you is that while those suits are impressive, they're not necessarily custom to every body," Bowe explained. She added, "For us today, this is more than a fashion statement, it's a nod to what I think will be the future of space where you have flexible, responsive fabrics and you have designers putting their take on what they think the future of space travel looks like.
" Related: Aisha Bowe Was on Historic All-Female Space Flight. Here's What Her Late Dad Said When He Learned the News (Exclusi.
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