2015 TV News Archives

March 31, 2015: Designers Discuss Superman and Supergirl Costumes

Superman Costume Fashionista.com has published an article on "How Superhero Costumes Are Made", in which they interview both "Man of Steel" and "Batman v Superman" costume designer Michael Wilkinson and "Supergirl" costume designer Colleen Atwood.

Here are a few excerpts from the article...

    Zack Snyder, director of "Batman v Superman," "Man of Steel" and "Justice League" parts one and two, likes to keep his superhero-studded films rooted in the present day. "He really wants these characters to connect directly to our world," says Wilkinson. "So if you were walking down the street and you came across Superman or Batman - of course it would be startling and powerful - but it could actually happen in our world rather than in a stylized version of our reality."

    Once the vision is communicated, a costume designer begins hunting for ideas. Wilkinson says he looks to ancient Greek sculpture, high fashion, video art, and high-tech sports and military apparel for inspiration, and organizes all the imagery into Photoshop collages.

    "With the superheroes I've been doing, the idea is to give them street-cred while paying homage to their roots," says three-time Oscar winner Colleen Atwood, who designed "The Flash," "Arrow" and the newly-debuted "Supergirl" costumes. "In Supergirl, I really liked the 'real' person side of her character and wanted that to 'play' in costume."

    The millennial "Man of Steel" Superman, which was initially designed by James Acheson, is nothing short of a "wonder of engineering," according to Wilkinson. It involves a multiple layers: a sculpted chrome muscle suit (because a compression body suit actually flattens out an actor's pumped up muscles), then a thin, sheer and 3D-printed chainmail-like blue mesh overlaid with foam-latex shapes. "It's all about building up layers and creating depth," Wilkinson explains. "It felt like some alien metal, something very strong and powerful."

    Of course, there can't be just one copy of the Superman suit - not only because of wear and tear, but also the context of the scenes and storylines. For instance, Superman might need a lightweight cape for action sequences, plus another that looks appropriate for standing or walking. Other versions might require strategically placed holes for wires and harnesses, or are manipulated to accommodate CG that's added during post-production.

Read the complete "How Superhero Costumes Are Made" article at Fashionista.com.



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