How will we dress while the world falls apart? When you think of The Hunger Games Capitol, you might think of overindulgence, a ridiculous campy flair, and the occasional unfortunate wig. Sure, the Capitol citizens of Panem might prefer a look that seems outrageously loud and overtly ignorant of the poverty surrounding them, but upon closer inspection, the fashion of dystopian worlds might be more accurate to modern trends than you think.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes places us in the Capitol of Panem towards the country's inception. With Coriolanus Snow as its protagonist, the film focuses heavily on the Capitol, placing society’s upper echelon at the forefront. As a prequel to the original trilogy, the film presents the beginnings of the Capitol’s fashion development, with the emerging style veering towards experimentalism.

The Capitol’s Academy student uniform is a perfect example of the seedlings of experimental fashion explored in society, specifically regarding androgyny. Regardless of gender, the uniform consists of a light-blue dress shirt and a bold red suit jacket paired with a matching pleated skirt and trousers. Pairing traditionally masculine garments like suit jackets and dress shirts, along with traditionally feminine garments such as the pleated skirt, reflect the Capitol's departure from rigid gender roles. This matches modern standards of genderless beauty, with a greater acceptance and even appreciation of androgynous fashion. Androgynous suits and skirts have risen in popularity due to brands like Rick Owens and Thome Browne, as well as celebrities like A$AP Rocky, Oscar Isaac, and Billy Porter. The rise of androgyny and gender fluidity in fashion has benefitted gender-queer people and encouraged others to explore their gender expression. However, while these brands and celebs are pushing gender boundaries, should these trends be seen as overindulgent and superfluous with their association with excess and luxury?

For example, Volumnia Gaul (Viola Davis), the Head Gamemaker, is the Capitol's most prestigious person. She is at the forefront of Panem's fashion, with a style that closely resembles the fashion trends appearing 64 years later in the OG trilogy. Gaul’s costume design expresses a jovial nature, with costumes filled with whimsy, which contrasts with the truly sinister character wearing the designs. She sports extravagant gowns with references to regality, specifically a high-necked Edwardian ruff on a deep purple dress in the reaping scene. Gaul's latex is a wardrobe staple, as seen in her elbow-length tight gloves, and is a trend that Kim Kardashian and Lady Gaga have recently popularized. Latex in modern fashion plants the trend of fetish bleeding into everyday wear, furthering the deep-rooted association between wealth and high fashion with the world of sex and pleasure. The relation of sex and pleasure to wealth only furthers the divide between the upper class and regular citizens, asserting that they can afford to indulge in the pleasures of life, even in their everyday wear. Latex is also extremely difficult to care for and put on; celebrities who wear it have assistants to help them shimmy into the material. The material serves as a status symbol, but also pushes the boundaries of fashion standards, introducing fetish into the mainstream.

When examining the original Hunger Games trilogy characters Effie Trinket stands out as a representation of the average Capitol citizen. Most of her costumes across the movies were designed by Alexander McQueen, whose avant-garde, outlandish style remains influential in modern fashion. Effie’s girlish poofed silhouettes and her ornately detailed garments resemble the brands of popular fashion houses like Iris Van Herpen, whose 3D printed designs aim to move fluidly around models. Her fantastical, whimsical designs bounce and flow, seeming to move on their own.

Effie’s fashion taste also reflects the modern celebrity obsession with camp. Campy fashion, despite previously being seen as tacky and generally tasteless, now circulates spheres of wealth. The 2019 Met Gala, the stomping ground for celebrities to sport their boldest fashion looks, was themed “Camp: Notes on Fashion.” Kendall and Kylie Jenner’s feathered looks were incredibly similar to Capitol fashion in color and silhouette. Like Katniss’ fiery dress, Lady Gaga’s look also transformed that night, losing her train and changing color. Transformative pieces in general have become more prevalent on red carpets, like Blake Lively’s 2022 Met Gala look. Dystopias like Panem accurately predicted the association between fashion and performance in high society. Celebrities like Young Thug, Cardi B, and Doja Cat continue to explore campy, outlandish styles, pushing the boundaries of traditional fashion norms. As these celebrities and Effie Trinket are viewed by many as fashion icons, one must ask if their influence extends to the lower classes due to their rejection of traditional fashion.

The Hunger Games related campy fashion with the over-excess produced by the elite portraying a society that allows the rich to swim in abundance, leaving the poor to drown in scarcity. This begs the question, is modern experimental fashion a result of having so much wealth you don’t know what to do with it? As avant-garde, nontraditional fashion bleeds between societal classes, we answer that many would dress experimentally if it were not for financial worries. The Capitol of Panem and our celebrities display how unlimited access to riches allows the upper-class access to fashion exploration that indulges their every whim and desire. With dystopian societies like Panem, the obstacle of wealth being hoarded into the upper class poses a harsh boundary to those in the lower classes, making “high fashion” more and more experimental and simultaneously inaccessible.