Photos: Christian Machado
UN JUMPSUIT
In 2028, the United Nations adopted its official leadership uniform, mandating all world leaders to wear their national jumpsuit to all U.N. conferences, meetings, and events.
The debate over uniforms was introduced in 2025 by a cohort of female leaders demanding greater equality, and objective governance regardless of sex, race, and class. The uniform was approved with a simple majority vote in favor. Moving forward, all leaders will wear the same garment. This early prototype was intended for the United Kingdom, with shades of blue and red from the nation’s flag and includes the tartan pattern, a traditional motif of the region, specific to Scotland. Later iterations of the uniform resulted in a pared down color palette, with only shades of blue, white and red. The velcro closure was also later replaced with a hidden zipper and buttons to appear more formal. The designs change every four years in conjunction with the athletic uniform designs of the summer Olympics.
The uniform stands as a genderless global sign of leadership, diplomacy and cooperation and has been officially in use since 2028.
OVERVIEW
"2028 OFFICIAL U.N. UNIFORM OF WORLD LEADERS: EARLY PROTOTYPE"
Semi-Finalist, Futuring Peace Exhibition Call (2020)Sponsored by UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) and Design Futures Initiative
PROCESS
The speculative jumpsuit began as an assemblage project re-constructing existing garments into a single jumpsuit. Like an episode of Project Runway, students were provided limited funds and time to purchase second-hand garments at Goodwill to be used to create a new jumpsuit. The below inspirations shaped the design, with a nod to military fashions, and the jumpsuit's construction was experimental as each modification shaped its next steps.
INSPIRATION
