In this video on Kazuliski’s channel which covers Cyberpunk 2077 lore and news, he looks at “Fashionware, Clothing & Cyberware” in the forthcoming video game. Anyone who’s familiar with the cyberpunk genre in general knows that in these near-future dystopian worlds, style and street cred are often paramount.

In Mike Pondsmith’s Cyberpunk universe of tabletop roleplaying games (and Cyberpunk 2077 which takes place within that same world), flash and panache are everything. In both game settings, your attire, fashion sense, and overall coolness impact your important Street Cred rating, along with overall gameplay, and the adventuring options available to you.

https://youtu.be/qMJ7ocEK_1A

In the Cyberpunk universe, you have such fashionware mods as tech hair (color-changing, animated hairstyles), light-emitting tattoos, chemical-infused skin that can changes colors, give you spots, and other effects, and the more permanent SynthSkin which offers even more skin-based display and color options. You can even implant video and biomonitor displays under your skin if you desire (and can afford the upgrades).

In the Pondsmith-based games (and many cyberpunk worlds), clothing is extremely tribal. You announce who you are in what you wear. And how well. From generic garb and the “urban flash” of street ware, to the high fashionware of the social elite and celebrities, to the armored, combat-ready clothing of Edgerunners.

In a world of endless skimming, where life is a cheap hustle and the body is seen more as an annoying meat sack than a temple, appearance, bodymods, and attitude are everything. It doesn’t have to be true, it just has to look and sound good. Ring a bell?

More on cyberpunk fashion here and here.
More on Pondsmith’s Cyberpunk here.