Founded: 1993
Founder: Ezra Gould and Kari and David Miller
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Mondorama was founded by Ezra Gould and Kari and David Miller. Their primary look was space-age retro with an extensive offering of both mens and womens clothing, including pants, shirts, jackets, dresses and more. Their nearly exclusive use of synthetic fabrics set them apart from other lines at the time – polyester, faux fur, nylon, plastics, vinyl and even rubber. They claim to draw huge inspiration from films like Logan’s Run and Blade Runner.

One of their signature items was a plastic jacket that was taken straight from the civil servant wardrobe in Blade Runner. Their look was unapologetically future retro. Most pieces looked like actual uniforms from these movies as well. They used bright blocky fabric segments to create their popular Space Dress, a full front zip a-line dress.

Another big influence was post-mod – maybe what you’d wear while flying a Vespa scooter through space. They were often tagged with the buzzword of the time, cyber-punk, but Ezra rebuffed that description saying that term was abused, even at the time. It was more about the love of technology and often people don’t understand anything about it.

After the success of their Mondorama line, which launched in 1993, only a year later, they opened a brick and mortar retail shop on Vermont Ave in the Los Feliz Village area of Silver Lake. The store was called MOA – The Ministry of Aesthetics. Of course they were well stocked with Mondorama, but also carried all the current hot brands for women (primarily) and men too. The shop looked like the inside of a spaceship. Mannequins had alien masks and most of the store looked like a futuristic flashback to the 40s, 50s and 60s.

Mondorama was tied closely to the club and rave scene but was grounded in streetwear. The shop itself was a mecca for club kids, not only to shop and outfit themselves for the latest rave, but it was also a gathering place to hang out and distribute information on where the best parties were going to be and how to get in. As David Gould, a former punker-turned-cyberhippie, said: “The heart of Mondorama has always been communication and the exchange of ideas through different mediums. We really want Ministry of Aesthetics to be a cultural center.”

Contributing Members: @mrthingone