COSTUME DESIGN HEROES

BY: Andy Shoulders

In times like these, we could all use a hero. Every day seems like a completely new universe. Luckily for lovers of amazing costume design, we still have the Marvel Universe to feast our eyes upon. Let’s take a look at some of the true fashion heroes who have helped bring these Marvel characters to life.

RUTH E. CARTER (BLACK PANTHER)

Three-time Oscar nominee Ruth E. Carter finally won her first much-deserved Oscar last year for her incredible Afrofuturistic designs in 2018’s Black Panther. Her innovative ideas on the film were unparalleled. In order to recreate the Maasai warrior headpiece from the comic, Carter fashioned it out of a placemat from Pier 1. She also used a men’s shaver to trim down 150 blankets worn by the warriors after they were deemed too heavy. Black Panther is the rare big-budget movie that took its costumes seriously, and Carter seamlessly evoked the fictional African kingdom of Wakanda by blending sci-fi with bona fide fashion history.

MAYES C. RUBEO (THOR: RAGNAROK)

Costume extraordinaire Mayes C. Rubeo is no stranger to creating looks for imagined worlds. She’s crafted pieces for films such as Total Recall and Avatar, and her amazing costumes for the blockbuster film Thor: Ragnarock are no exception. Rubeo created over 1,700 costumes for the cast and scores of extras, and some of her best work can be seen on Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster, Cate Blanchett’s villain Hela, and Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie.

LOUISE FROGLEY (IRON MAN 3, SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING, ANT-MAN AND THE WASP)

For the Paul Rudd-led Ant-Man and the Wasp, costume designer Louise Frogley embarked on a 5-month-long design process. She worked closely with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige on developing detailed concepts before the actual design process even began. After that came grueling trial and error as the costumes had to be lightweight and moveable, but not so much so that they fall apart during shoots. Frogley also delved into the civilian identities of the characters, with the goal of making them as credible as possible. As for that suspected Easter egg theory about the faces of an ant and wasp hidden within the respective costumes, Frogley declared that to be a myth, although we’re sure she wishes she thought of that.

ALEXANDRA BYRNE (DOCTOR STRANGE, THOR)

Oscar-winning British costume designer Alexandra Byrne (Elizabeth II: The Golden Age) first lent her talents to the Marvel universe in 2011’s Thor. We most recently saw her lend her hand to Benedict Cumberbatch’s Dr. Stephen Strange and his Cloak of Levitation, which contains one hundred shades of red! According to Byrne, the secret to any good cape is in the draping, and in this case, the final version of the Cloak of Levitation (which contained velvet and embroidery, among other features) had been aged and degraded in order to give it a more authentic feel. Let’s also not forget that Byrne had the opportunity to dress Tilda Swinton for her role as the Ancient One. Swinton has worn every designer for literally every photographer over the years, and Byrne wisely played to Swinton’s androgyny while giving her a more pared-down aesthetic.

SANJA MILKOVIC HAYS (CAPTAIN MARVEL)

2019’s Captain Marvel was one of the year’s highest-grossing films and the first female-led Marvel film. Already known for her work on Star Trek Beyond and The Fast and the Furious franchise, Sanja Milkovic Hays collaborated with Andy Park, Marvel’s director of visual development, to create the costumes for Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel and alter ego Carol Danvers. Hays nailed the aesthetic for today’s Captain Marvel by allowing her to embrace her gender without being overtly sexualized, as so many female superheroes have throughout the years. Captain Marvel’s alter ego, the edgy & tomboyish Carol Danvers, was styled to look exactly as such. In the film, when she landed on Earth and needed clothes, she appropriately chose a Nine Inch Nails T-shirt, evoking just the right amount of 90s-infused grungy edge.

When you’re watching any movie from the Marvel universe, rather than just sitting back and enjoying the spectacle, take a minute to appreciate the costumes. Concepting and creating them is a painstaking process, and without the talented and meticulous eyes of these amazing designers, the spectacle you’re enjoying wouldn’t be as…well…”marvel”-ous, would it?