Space Cadet: An English gentleman walks into a sci-fi bar

MANILA, Philippines - In the latest adaptation of the Arthur Conan Doyle series on BBC One, with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman which recently returned to network TV, Sherlock is all modern finish, blue-lit with sharp sets and even sharper dialogue.

Melding old English sensibilities with a science fiction spin is an old trope but done well, it’s a trope worth doing.

The same juxtaposition is at the heart of Rajo Laurel’s latest transitional collection, dubbed “Spock & Savile.”

“If Mr. Spock came back in time to the present day, what kind of suit would he have made on Savile Row?” the designer asks.

Laurel culled influences from 1960s space-themed shows like Star Trek, Land of the Lost and also mid-century to early ’80s futuristic sci-fi noir cinema.

Shot in beautiful, vaguely hazy stills by Jo Ann Bitagcol, the collection mines the sharp tailoring of English suiting, particularly in the use of houndstooth and tweed, and sets it against the space-age burlesque of sci-fi through use of metals, plastics, acrylics and leather.

The designer seeks a future where modern garb invokes the past.