FE3H Faction Fashion Aesthetics
Making a personal resource for myself and others to use. Hoping to make it easier for myself when designing ocs for the universe going forward. It’s a lot more obvious in Three Hopes than in Three Houses, but the same thing applies.
Adrestian Empire
Exemplifying the supposed opulence of Adrestia, there are a lot of curves and flares in Adrestian armor and clothing. While the armor is built with a heavy emphasis on form, it does not sacrifice function. They favour the warmer colour spectrum, with some exception.
Tassles, fringe, balloon hems, and large capes are used en masse, creating a larger, tapered frame that can also be interpreted as imposing or meant to attract attention. Like the large plumage of a peacock or, well, an eagle.
They style themselves like birds, a regal distraction from their strength. (How appropriate.)
Holy Kingdom of Faerghus/Faeghus Dukedom
Layers, layers, Layers.
The clothing in Faeghus is entirely meant to keep you warm, and the armor is layered, sturdy, and functional. Even the mages and speed focused warriors wear layers to protect themselves from the elements, usually following the cooler colour spectrum.
Accessories and jewelry are typically simple - likely a nod to the poverty of the country itself and a focus on knightly culture - and most of the catching details come in the form of colour and the way the layers are implemented.
Also, very important, furs!! Like the manes of lions, nearly all of the noble characters hailing from Faerghus in Three Hopes wear some form of fur. (Sylvain is the only exception to this rule, as he wears a scarf instead.)
Leicester Alliance/Federation
Leicester has very little in the way of cohesive clothing design. That is, however, because there is a heavy emphasis on form and ease of movement.
The armor is typically light, if available at all, and is comfortably located primarily around the chest. Clothing is loose and airy, a physical representation of the city-state’s very fluid nature.
As for the colours, they are vibrant and colour a wide range of the spectrum, not totally centered around one particular side - another nod to their unorthodox standard of living. Spots, eye-catching patterns, and long fluid lines – that’s the Golden Deer for you.
Duscur, Brigid, and Almyra
So, it took some digging, but I believe a lot of the basis for these three specific places is heavily borrowed from African, Celtic/Hawaiian, and Persian cultures respectively.
Using Dedue as the basis, Duscur style appears to be very much inspired by a mix of the ancient Nubians - particularly the Kushites - and the ancient Egyptians. Focusing mainly on the golden or potentially copper adornments and textiles he wears, I imagine their style was heavily focused on mixing patterns with a wide array of colour. (Dedue mixes that alongside Faerghus-style armor and layering, a very good example of character-driven character design.)
At first, I had assumed Brigid had more of a Hawaiian leaning due to a number of factors concerning Petra specifically, how the location is a tropical archipelago historically sought after for resources/colonization by foreign armies, and a lot of… other less than savoury historical tidbits. But, after some research, I discovered a lot of Celtic inspirations as well! Flowing clothing with form fitted areas only where necessary, tattoos around the arm and upper back, golden neck rings and bangles, and elaborate hair braiding styles are the name of the game on Brigid.
Almyra is, almost incredibly so, inspired by the ancient Persian (Achaemenid) Empire – an empire known for its warriors and its lustre. So, you know what that means. Gold. Gold everywhere. But only elite warriors (or royalty, in the case of Shahid and Claude) use gold in their armor, so for a lower soldier, iron and bronze work best. Natural colors like yellow, orange, and green are commonly used for their loose and flowy clothing, normally accented by deep browns, black, and white linens. Like the Duscur people, they too use complex patterns and dyes. Boots and shoes are sometimes curved at the tips, but greaves are not. Head accessories range from headwraps to turbans to tiaras and diadems.
