A Complete Guide to High Fashion & Character Style in Sailor Moon

Sailor Moon is a classic shojo anime about a magical girl named Usagi Tsukino. She is both a girl who loves shopping for clothes and jewelry, and a reincarnated cosmic princess. Naoko Takeuchi added many layers of myth and culture to her work, including gorgeous high fashion references.

Many Sailor Moon characters wear timeless outfits that come straight from 1990s high fashion runways. Takeuchi loves dressing her villains in slick, gothic looks by Thierry Mugler, and putting her heroes in elegant Christian Dior and Chanel. Takeuchi explains some of her fashion references in her art books, but it’s helpful to have a guide to some of her more iconic character designs.

Fashion in the Moon Kingdom During the Silver Millennium

The Moon Kingdom Was a Center for the Arts

Queen Serenity and Princess Serenity are two in the Moon Kingdom’s long matriarchal line. That line has its own traditional fashion elements that mean more than just marking them as royalty. The Moon Kingdom plays a key role in the Solar System, from protecting the galaxy from harm to technological innovation to patronizing the arts. When Queen Beryl and Queen Metalia launch an assault on the Moon Kingdom, they want to wipe its presence from existence. It’s highly thematic that Beryl and Metalia try to destroy a civilization by destroying any record of its art and culture. In that context, Princess Serenity holding on to her traditional dress when she transforms feels doubly hopeful and revolutionary. As long as Princess Serenity practices her people’s traditions, her world and its purpose lives on even after its capitol is demolished.

Princess Serenity’s and Queen Serenity’s similar fashion isn’t just pretty world-building, it ties many vital themes and imagery in the epic Sailor Moon story together. The princess and queen wear their hair in the same odango style, and they both wear simple white gowns. Princess Serenity’s white and gold dress seems to be a traditional design for the Moon Kingdom princesses, because her daughter, Chibiusa, also wears her own version of the Princess Serenity dress. Naoko Takeuchi modeled the Moon Princess gown off of a Christian Dior gown of the same color. Dior’s gown, the Palladium Dress from their 1992 collection, has the same empire waist, intricate golden beadwork, and cap sleeves as the anime version. The Palladium Dress was designed to look like an Ionic Column. The dress matches the overall Grecian temple design of the Moon Castle.

The color, cap sleeves and empire waist of the Dior Palladium Dress are highly significant in terms of fashion history. It’s a nod to Regency Era fashion in England, where society women wore empire-waisted gowns of simple linen and muslin. The English of the Regency Era were very taken with Greek history and attached a lot of sentimentality to Greek ideals of studiousness, self-control, and naturalism. The Moon Kingdom also seems modeled after Ancient Greece ideals, as the Moon Queens were meant to foster technological advancement, and they had a huge responsibility in wielding the Silver Crystal.

As Princess Serenity’s strength grows, she evolves into Neo-Queen Serenity, her white dress changes. The dress skirt is more voluminous, and the bow on her back, which isn’t a part of the original Palladium Dress, extends far past the small of her back, looking more like angel or butterfly wings. Neo-Queen Serenity’s dress is inspired by the Angel of Gold Dress by Roberto Capucci. The Angel of Gold Dress has an added level of regal grandeur; the skirt ripples as if it’s perpetually carried by the wind, and the soft but lush golden color befits a goddess of the heavens–which is exactly what Neo-Queen Serenity is.

Takeuchi Designed Her Villains with Regal Gothic Runway Looks

Sailor Moon Villains Wear ’90s Thierry Mugler Collections

Naoko Takeuchi chose a few distinct designers to serve as inspiration for her villains. Thierry Mugler’s high fashion looks have a lush, gothic quality that makes a character look otherworldly. Mugler made designs for women that were meant to be theatrical and hyper-feminine, but those feminine looks drew from many women archetypes, from warrior goddesses to daunting sorceresses. Other designers that inspired Sailor Moon villains, like Christian Lacroix and Yves Saint Laurent, have very dramatic, avant-garde aesthetics. Yves Saint Laurent’s aesthetic communicates a level of refined luxury, and Lacroix is meant to look dauntingly effortless. Even the more understated looks have roots in high fashion campaigns.

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Koan wears one iconic outfit, which Takeuchi drew directly from Thierry Mugler’s Fall 1992 runway. Koan wears the same dark pin-striped bodysuit and feathery black tutu as the Mugler model. She even has her hair styled in the same conical odango, which gives her a feline appearance. Mugler’s original design is made in shades of black and gray, but Koan’s bodysuit has some bits of muted pink, which fits the overall Sailor Moon color palette. Koan is meant to be the evil version of Sailor Mars, and Mugler’s Fall design really could be the swaggering evil version of the Guardian of Fire.

Calaveras wears a version of Christian Lacroix’s ultra-structured sleeveless dress from his 1992 Fall/Winter collection. Both Calaveras’ uniform and the Lacroix dress have muted gold bodices made of intricate stitching and boning, to the point where it looks almost like it’s made of metal rather than fiber. Lacroix’s dress already has a lot of elements in common with the Sailor Guardians’ general style; it has a form-fitting bodice, and a cheeky bow. Calaveras wears her bow in her hair rather than on her chest or at the small of her back, though. The only other difference between Calaveras’ attire and the Lacroix piece is the Lacroix garment has a long skirt. The overall outfit has a look of fierce beauty.

Wicked Lady is the evil, grown alternate version of Chibiusa. She represents Chibiusa’s destiny if she continues down a dark path and becomes a villain, Wicked Lady, rather than the Princess of the Silver Millennium. Since she represents a different version of her future, her dress is the total opposite of the twin Dior-inspired Princess Serenity gown she and her mother wear. Wicked Lady’s attire was designed from a Yves Saint Laurent perfume ad campaign. While the campaign is meant to promote a perfume, it’s cohesive with the YSL brand, communicating a dark opulence, like a queenly viper poised to strike.

The Shitennou who serve Queen Beryl and the Dark Kingdom all wear some version of an army uniform, each with some variation. The gray military coat and tailored trousers look almost exactly like Mugler’s military designs from his 1986 Fall/Winter collection. The army-style pieces, called “Les Milteuses,” are varying shades of dark gray wool, with ultra-structured shoulders and buttons near the upper left corners. The Shitennou wear military-style uniforms not just because they’re Queen Beryl’s generals, but because they were once Prince Endymion’s four loyal knights.

Queen Beryl wears a svelte gown that moves as if it’s made of high-quality velvet. The color shifts from black to deep amethyst, depending on the lighting. She’s every inch the dark queen draped in sumptuous black, consulting her crystal orb. She’s meant to look both gorgeous and threatening, and a Mugler dress is the perfect choice to communicate that. The part of Queen Beryl’s dress that marks it for a Mugler-inspired piece is the baroque-style keyhole in her bodice. It’s very similar to Mugler’s 1990s bodycon evening gowns that accentuate the bust and hips, which also have pointed necklines and dramatic keyhole designs.

The Sailor Guardians & Their Allies Also Sport Haute Couture

The Guardians’ Style Reflects Their Powers & Personality

Naoko Takeuchi scattered high fashion designs throughout her entire Sailor Moon series, but the Outer Sailor Guardians seem to be the ones with the most expensive taste in clothing. Some of the Inner Sailor Guardians wear some runway-inspired looks, especially ones that are youthful, pretty, and girlish. But the Outer Sailor Guardians wear designer pieces that have a whole other level of grandeur, with lush embellishments, jewelry, and svelte, structured designs. The high fashion pieces work well with Sailor Pluto, Sailor Saturn, Sailor Neptune, and Sailor Uranus, because they are a bit more enigmatic and powerful than the other main-character Sailor Guardians.

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Sailor Pluto is the most mature and one of the most enigmatic Sailor Guardians. She has a heavy responsibility to guard the Door of Space and Time, but that doesn’t stop her from gracing the universe with her elegant looks. Sadly, Sailor Pluto isn’t featured much in the ’90s Sailor Moon anime, but the manga, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, and the anime reboot, Sailor Moon Crysta l show her in her full glory. Sailor Pluto has several designer outfits; she has one of the most varied wardrobes in the series. She wears plenty of 1992 Chanel black dresses and gloves. She also wears one of the most iconic Sailor Moon outfits–the haute couture Chanel gown covered in baroque chains and medallions. The chain dress, especially, highlights how Sailor Pluto is beautiful, daunting, and untouchable.

Sailor Saturn is one of the few hero characters to wear a Thierry Mugler-inspired look. Mugler outfits tend to have a gorgeous, yet sinister quality to them with their extreme silhouettes, dramatic jewel embellishments, and deep colors. Mugler makes sense for Sailor Saturn because she’s the Sailor Guardian with the most threatening powers. She has death energy attacks so strong that they can level planets. That’s why Pharaoh 90 wants to use her as a vessel to host the evil entity, Mistress 9. Sailor Saturn has a good heart and noble strength of character, but her clothes hint at how she could be a horrifying villain if she ever chose to.

Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune wear one of Naoko Takeuchi’s favorite designers, Versace. Specifically, they were slightly simplified versions of fitted dresses from Versace’s 1993 Autumn/Winter and Spring/Summer collections. Though the Sailor Guardian lovers wear dresses from the same year, each dress highlights unique parts of their character. The Autumn/Winter collection has a very romantic feeling to it, and Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune have one of the most romantic stories in the series. Sailor Neptune wears a simple black dress with a dramatic neckline, which lends itself well to Sailor Neptune’s sophisticated and thoughtful personality. Sailor Uranus wears a more intricate dress made of a black crushed velvet skirt and bodice, and a linen bust and sleeves. The cuffed sleeves are wide and flowy, and the neckline has a relaxed drape to it, borrowing the silhouette of a male love interest on a historical romance novel cover.

Sailor Venus wears the more youthful Chanel looks. She wears a version of Chanel’s skirt and crop top sets. The only difference between Sailor Venus’ set and the preppy Chanel sets is that Sailor Venus has a pendant on her lapel rather than on the front of her pencil skirt. This side of Chanel works for Sailor Venus because it communicates her cheerful personality. It’s also interesting to note that the Chanel set has a chain wrapping around the skirt’s waist, ending with a pendant in the shape of the Chanel logo. The chain is remarkably similar to Sailor Venus’ Venus Chain, which also wraps around her waist in the manga and in Sailor Moon Crystal. The Venus Chain is a direct homage to the Greek goddess, Aphrodite’s girdle, which incited passion in the wearer.

Anime & Fashion Work as a Feedback Loop

Anime & Designer Clothing Are a Case of Art Informing Art

Anime and the fashion world have a symbiotic relationship. Both art forms push the boundaries of creativity and design. It makes sense that mangaka like Naoko Takeuchi and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure‘s Hirohiko Araki take so much inspiration from fashion designers as they create their characters and map out dynamic poses for their covers. Naoko Takeuchi and Hirohiko Araki take so much inspiration from the fashion world that they became part of it.

Araki’s characters pose in avant-garde and editorial poses; it’s such an iconic part of his series that fans affectionately dub it “JoJo posing.” Araki’s love of fashion design and photography spurred an amazing collaboration between him and Gucci in 2011, where both creatives combined their art forms. Araki wrote a manga featuring Gucci articles, and they held an exhibition where Araki’s JoJo illustrations came to life, posing alongside Gucci pieces. Naoko Takeuchi’s eye for fashion and creative storytelling prowess also resulted in a Jimmy Choo collaboration. The boot collection are high fashion takes on the Inner Sailor Guardians’ and Sailor Moon’s boots. Takeuchi immortalizing so much of ’90s fashion also helps keep it relevant, as fans still enjoy the anime today.

Sailor Moon

A group of schoolgirls discover they are incarnations of super-powered alien princesses, and use their abilities to defend the earth.

Release Date

March 7, 1992

Creator(s)

Naoko Takeuchi

Cast

Kotono Mitsuishi , Aya Hisakawa , Michie Tomizawa , Emi Shinohara , Rica Fukami , Tôru Furuya , Keiko Han , Kae Araki , Yasuhiro Takato

Seasons

5

Creator

Main Characters

Production Company

Writers

Sukehiro Tomita

Number of Episodes

Streaming Service(s)

Hulu

Directors

Junichi Sato , Kunihiko Ikuhara

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