Cyberpunk style is a throwback to the 1970’s when punk rock was still considered innovative and cool. It involves hackers and science fiction.
This year sees the release of exciting new products such as the Tesla Cybertruck and the upcoming video game Cyberpunk 2077 by CD Projekt. Even though there are already a lot of cyberpunk selfies on the internet, now it is mainstream. But the genre of science fiction was developed in the 1960’s and 70’s. Cyberpunk themes are often used in Japanese anime films and television series. And it is not really anything new to comic fans.
Cyperpunk is characterized by stories about hackers living in a dystopian future. The genre also involves elements of American noir and detective mysteries.
There are several elements to a cyberpunk fashion shoot. We are not including the disquieting themes about science and government because that should never be a fashion trend.
A Big City at Night
Scarlett Johansson in Ghost in a Shell (2017)
Look at pictures of cyperpunk art for inspiration. First you need a big, futuristic city at night in the background. They should be a lot of bright neon lights and video billboards if possible. Adjust the image settings or add a photo filter in order to make it look more saturated and bright.
If you don’t have access to a big city or you hate the smell of pee, it is possible to use LED lights instead. Neon lights make a suitable cyberpunk background. You could also do lasers like at a rave.
Futuristic Apparel
Cyberpunk Woman by Vasiliel Cosplay (Instagram)
Dress like a person in the future would dress if they were into alt lifestyles. Like if it was the 1970’s that person would be a punk rocker and it would still be cool. But in the dystopian future they wear all black, have anxiety attacks, fight the man, and hack into the mainframe like Mr. Robot.
Suggested Reading:
Advanced Technology
Woman wears computer glasses that haven’t been invented.
In the year 2020 we have a lot of accessories that would appear futuristic and incredible to a person alive in the 1920’s. For example a smartphone is very futuristic if you think about it. But there are also smart watches, home speakers, cars that drive really fast, jumbo jets, water bottles that filter water, modern sneakers, DJ software, keyboard synthesizers, headphones and more. And there are multiple computers in the average household.
Cyberpunk Books & Films
Rachel from Blade Runner fan art by Daniel J. Burns (Portfolio)
If you wear cyberpunk style without appreciating the books, films and TV series then you are nothing but a big poser. Plus it will help you build inspiration and your vocabulary. Classic examples of cyberpunk literature include Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Blade Runner #1) (1968) by Phillip K. Dick, and Neuromancer (1984) by William Gibson. The movie Blade Runner (1982) is based on the former. That is the cyberpunk movie that everyone knows about. The movie Soylent Green (1973) is about an overpopulated future where they eat people because there’s no food.
We are predicting that cyberpunk fashion will trend this year. Except now that it is the future it is neo-cyberpunk. Or maybe we could give it a name that is more future like cyber bass. So read all these books, watch all these movies, take pictures, and get an advanced engineering degree.