Photos like this could pass for a Cold War-era Russian propaganda program, or perhaps shots straight from the set of the movie Moonraker — if not for a stray pair of late-20th century sneakers.
Renowned fashion photographer Arthur Elgort, now 72, actually created these images for the December 1999 issue of Russian Vogue. (The magazine is owned by Conde Nast, which also owns Wired.)
In the images, supermodel Natalia Semanova mingles with real-life cosmonauts at Star City, a town northeast of Moscow and home of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, where for more than 50 years the Russian Federal Space Agency has trained willing citizens to fly in space. (Recently they’ve also been trained to survive 520 days inside a tin can.)
The photos experienced a recent resurgence in social media circles, so Wired tracked down Elgort to learn more about the timeless photos.
Wired: What led you to merge the worlds of fashion, science and technology for this shoot?
Arthur Elgort: I find it more interesting to put fashion in a setting that is different. Anywhere that the story can be about places that enhance the clothes.