A group of artificial beings created from organic matter and forced to work as slaves rise up in rebellion and wipe out the entire human race. Sound familiar? No, this isn’t the premise of a modern-day sci-fi movie but of Mr Karel Čapek’s seminal play RUR (Rossum’s Universal Robots). First performed 100 years ago today, it is credited with introducing the word “robot” to the English language.

While the play’s continued relevance reminds us that our anxieties regarding automation are nothing new, we’ve since come to embrace our mechanical counterparts, not just in popular culture but in the real world, where they have become an increasingly important part of our daily lives. From delivering our parcels and vacuuming our homes to driving our cars, there seems to be no getting away from robots. With that in mind, why not learn something from them? So then, in true MR PORTER fashion, here are a few style tips gleaned from five of our favourite robots of all time.

OK, hear us out. Sure, Robby (of Forbidden Planet fame) is hardly the suavest robot in the galaxy, but at the time (the late 1950s) his bulky three-part black suit was considered groundbreaking in design terms: costing about $1 million, if you adjust for inflation, it was the first sci-fi costume of its kind that didn’t look like a man in a vaguely robot-shaped jumpsuit but was, by all accounts, an almighty bugger to get on and off for stunt actor Mr Frankie Darro. Yet, to our eye, it looks uncannily similar to a down jacket or puffer, one of the outerwear world’s foremost trends right about now. The good news is you’ll only have to zip up a puffer jacket from Rick Owens or Moncler to be ready to go. Plus, they’re a comparative steal.

Bender – or Bender Bending Rodríguez, to give him his full name – is not a typical role model. His alcoholism, chain-smoking and, on more than one occasion, his fixation on wiping out the human race may explain why he’s the only entity on this list not included in the Robot Hall of Fame. (Yes, that is a real thing.) The Futurama android did, however, appreciate the importance of on-the-go storage, or, what you and I would call “pockets”. Though rarely fully clothed, the robot’s reliance on his chest cavity (despite it usually being reserved for storing bottles of beer, and sometimes even brewing the stuff) reiterates the importance of having a place to store your stuff about your person. For those of us not made of metal, cargo trousers (now newly restored in the style rankings) and field or chore jackets are your friends.

Not a robot per se, 2001: A Space Odyssey’s HAL 9000 was more a terrifying murderous artificial intelligence that communicated via a glowing scarlet interface and a scarily soothing voice. And yet, he still deserves some credit for his sartorial nous: namely, knowing what colours work for you and what impact they have on those you come across. Red, of course, serves as a warning signal (as well as the tone of some very nice Givenchy pieces this season) so we really should have guessed where things were going to end up aboard the Discovery One. The same approach might be applied when picking your wardrobe’s palette: khaki equals military vibes; yellow is inherently day-brightening; pale blue is characteristically soothing and so on.

The real hero of the Star Wars franchise would be far too modest to admit it (or perhaps he wouldn’t, but we doubt C-3PO would vocalise it on his behalf). But, as Captain Panaka noted, R2-D2 is “an extremely well put-together little droid”. It helps that he’s also a dab hand at accessorising, with a clear understanding that it’s the small details that have the capacity to transform your overall look. His many technical features and devices aside, it’s Artoo’s inspired helmet of blue that cements his credentials. In our search for the colour’s true meaning and significance, we even stumbled on forums dedicated to recreating the precise shade. It’s not an exact match but we think this RRL beanie is close enough.

We might have said it many times over our 10 years in the business, but it’s still worth repeating: you can rarely go wrong with a classic leather jacket. True, the 800-series Terminator didn’t inaugurate this style lesson so much as reinforce the power of the piece. Similarly, like the men who wore it best before him (Messrs James Dean, Marlon Brando and Patrick Swayze), Mr Arnold Schwarzenegger’s biker was basically movie shorthand for “this is a man (or, in this case, cyborg) you probably don’t want to mess with”. Just don’t pinch yours off of some unsuspecting chap playing pool in a bar – we promise MR PORTER has got plenty to go around. And boots, too, for that matter, although we’re not able to provide you with a motorcycle just yet.

The robots featured in this story are not associated with and do not endorse MR PORTER or the products shown