Dresses made of steel and designers upset by the intrusion of robots.. Will they replace them in the world of fashion?

Metallic designs have emerged as one of the most striking fashion trends in recent times, from a handmade white gold bra worth $50 million, worn by American reality TV star Kylie Jenner in the Victoria’s Secret women’s lingerie brand’s fashion show, to the latest looks of American actress Jenna Ortega on the red carpet. At first glance, Ortega's dress evokes the fashions of the American artist Cher, with its bold cut and metallic structure, as it combines a shaping top, a fringed skirt, and a W-shaped bodice.

But American designer Elias Matsuo created the dress using hand-cut flat and spiral steel strips, elements typically used to support corsets or hoop skirts. The result was a design similar to a metal sculpture that wraps around Ortega's body, with a steel structure that replaces traditional fabrics.

Ortega wore the dress to the New York City premiere of the movie “Clara and the Sun,” adapted from the novel of the same name by Kazuo Ishiguro, released in 2021. In it, she plays the role of Clara, an enthusiastic and altruistic solar-powered robot known as the “Artificial Friend.”

The American actress and her stylist Enrique Melendez had many options to choose a look inspired by the movie character, within the framework of what is known as the “dressing method”, the idea of ​​which is to choose outfits that reflect the character or work that the star is promoting. For decades, luxury fashion houses have been inspired by robots, especially those with feminine features, in their designs, despite the industry’s reliance on human craftsmanship to justify its high prices.

One of the most prominent examples of this is the “Machinmench” suit designed by American Thierry Mugler in 1995, and re-weared by American actress Zendaya after years of absence. The design was inspired by the robotic costume with sculptural lines worn by Brigitte Helm in the 1927 film "Metropolis."

In the year 2024, the Italian house “Scaparelli” used technological waste from the 2000s era in its high-end fashion collection, which included electronic circuit boards and used phones. Creative director Daniel Rosebery jokingly described these electronic components as "old fabrics."

As for the British house "Alexander McQueen"'s spring show in 1999, robotic arms sprayed paint on a white dress worn by Canadian model Shalom Harlow, until the paint covered its entire surface, in a scene that became one of the most prominent moments in the history of fashion shows. The intersection of technology and fashion is constantly evolving. Today, the intersection between technology and fashion is no longer just a fantasy inspired by strange robotic costumes that reveal parts of the body, but rather it has become closer to reality.

The company "Meta" has collaborated with Kylie Jenner and the American brand "Ray-Ban" to provide artificial intelligence glasses that are more aesthetically attractive, at a time when actual robots are closer than ever to the world of fashion. During the summer, clips of human-like robots developed by Unity Robotics were widely circulated after they performed dance moves at the “Vogue World: Milan 2026” event in the Italian city of Milan.

Watching it sparked remarkable reactions among those present, while a number of designers in the front row, including Miuccia Prada and Alessandro Michele, seemed upset by the show. Then the company's robots returned to the forefront during Shanghai Fashion Week, but this time to present wedding dresses on the catwalk of the Chinese brand "The Atelier".

Designs that blend technology and fashion need a clear human touch to attract interest rather than cause fear. Rosebery repurposed expendable technology from IT departments in the early 2000s, while McQueen used robotic arms from a car paint factory, industrial techniques that fall short of technological advances that raise concerns about humanity's future.

The same applies to Ortega's dress, whose internal structure recalls an electronic circuit board, but relies on metal strips formed by hand by the designer. Both Matsuo and Ortega emphasized the human effort it took to complete the design.