Interviews | Roger Ebert: For Marvel's new film "Black Panther," costume designer Ruth Carter had to create wardrobe for five different fictional African tribes, an army of women, and an iconic Marvel superhero. The costumes had to reflect the history and aesthetic of the comic books, be believably African in terms of color palette, and vibrant enough to stand out in a film with gorgeous scenery and dazzling special effects. Carter did all of that and more, with costumes that captivate the eye and reveal the character.
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Wow! I am really impressed by the amount of work and research that went into the costume design of Black Panther (which I will be seeing tonight!). When I first saw that the Black Panther movie was being produced, I was actually somewhat worried that we would see a lot of whitewashing and poor, if any, representation of African culture. However, the result could not be further from my expectations! The costume designer has gone above and beyond to represent Wakanda truthfully, even going so far as to custom design fabrics because "Actual African fabric as we know it is Dutch and Dutch-inspired and brought to Africa. Africa liked it and adopted it so all of their African fabrics come from Holland or from China. Wakanda was never colonized, so [she] didn’t want to use them. Every time [she] started to use the African fabrics [she] felt like it was not this movie so [she] created my own fabrics, based on the sacred geometry of African art." A lot of people would be satfisfied if they just used generic 'African' fabric without thinking about its history. Most audiences would never know the difference. Yet, this designer has gone above and beyond for the sake of her art, creating truthful representation for people of color across the world.
I haven’t seen the Black Panther yet but I find this very interesting. The costume designer talks about research she did and you get a sense of how she came to what she did but the amount of research she actually did for a film like this must have been insane. There is a lot to worry about when doing things like this because costumes for women shouldn’t be the sexy worrier look even when it is designated as such in the comics. The African dress has to also be accurate but be able to create this sci-fi world. She is walking many borders all at the same time. Its very impressive that she was able to pull this off not only extremely well but while also being very true to the cultures she pulled from. This is very important. I find the costumes from what I have seen to be extremely well designed as they work very well for all those borders she was dealing with and just look like a marvel superhero movie. I am very impressed and very excited to see this movie.
I am so excited to see this movie for a lot of reasons, but the news and buzz about the production design and costume design is enough to get me to go see it alone. I love how the production design of this movie draws all of its inspiration from an authentic cultural background and can't wait to see how it manifests on screen. I'm pretty confident it will be stunning, as all the reviews have made special note of the movie's design, some even predicting an oscar nom for the production design. In addition to the design, I can't wait to see the performances and directing of the film as well, as I have found both of Ryan Coogler's first two movies to be thrilling, moving, and highly engaging. I am particularly excited to see Michael B Jordan as the villain, as he has starred in both of Coogler's last movies with incredible performances in both. Can't Wait!
Continuing on the texturing train of this week! I have yet to see Black Panther, but I know that it's received excellent reviews, and the costumes are not stopping short at all. I really admire the costume designer and her inspirations; how she's brought both comic book inspiration as well as the real world historic context. The designer said: "Actual African fabric as we know it is Dutch and Dutch-inspired and brought to Africa. Africa liked it and adopted it so all of their African fabrics come from Holland or from China. Wakanda was never colonized, so I didn’t want to use them. Every time I started to use the African fabrics I felt like it was not this movie so I created my own fabrics, based on the sacred geometry of African art. Usually it's a checkerboard or it's pyramid shapes or it's striations of horizontal and vertical strikings so I use that and we created prints. Lupita's green dress in the casino is one print that we created based on the Nigerian kente cloth." So awesome!
As Susan says, a good designer can take on any culture. I firmly believe that, with research and smart decision making, a designer is able to create a beautiful world that is representative of any culture. This costume designer was able to do just that by researching African culture and creating designs that fit in this world for a fictional country. I love that she was able to pay homage to the comic book while also creating looks that are culturally accurate and appropriate for this new age of strength - especially among the email characters. I think this movie is going to break existing stereotypes and create a new world in which minorities can be strong main characters. I cannot wait to see the actors/ actresses performances and I think that this will be the first in many movies that give children new role models to look up to.
I am going to go see the Black Panther today! I am so beyond excited about this movie. It gives me so much hope that this movie was even created. Even though I have not yet seen the movie I have read several articles on it. And a lot of them have been about the costumes in the movie and there origins. This has inspired me and made me feel really connected to my natural continent. Ive never really had the desire to know more about the culture that was stolen from me and my family. But with nothing more than the advertising I am eager to learn more. I have started to thing about what a world were Africa was not colonized would have looked like. What an inspiring thought. But at the same time, it so strongly upsets me because now all I think thing about how my natural culture was stolen from me not once but twice. Its so unbelievable that a how culture could be hijacked for so long and how much delay it has take to recover from it. When White America finally gets around to paying it reparation, I think the UK should pay up too. I think this movie may show what it might have looked like if we had been able to be free and prosper into the 21st century.
This costume designer was tasked with a particularly difficult challenge of creating a fictional universe with the costumes of Black Panther. It was fascinating to read how the decisions about the aesthetics of each tribe were based upon the colors, metals, and resources found in each fictional area. When creating a sci-fi world, everything that is made is essentially concept art. This is what interests me so heavily about sculpting fictional worlds, as each thing you do needs to come from an entirely original place. It was also interesting to note how the designer had to modify certain warrior costumes as originally they were revealing in the comic books based upon their audience, but in reality they needed to be much more practical and movable than that. That's something I don't tend to think about when looking at costumes in movies or even in theatre-- how breathable or stretchy the material needs to be in order for it to actually function for its given purpose.
Yes yes yes!!! This films design was stunningly spectacular, but all I could think about watching it was how unbelievably intricate and well thought out the costumes were! From evening wear to traditional garments to casual clothes for a variety of age ranges and African cultural groups, this film showed thought in every piece down to the earrings and belts and individual rings on the characters fingers. Ever tribal group's individual culture and styles especially struck me in it's beauty and detail - they talk about it a lot in the article, explaining the tribe's inspirations, colors, and even the metals and other materials associated with them. That level of thought still, after two days, completely astounds me and leaves me in awe. I really hope they have a Black Panther costume exhibit in New York City like they had with The Avengers and Star Wars and Harry Potter - I feel like the information you'd find out about all the pieces in the museum display notes would be absolutely fascinating.
The costuming, makeup, and wig decisions were all impeccable in this movie. The amount of curation, care, and love that Ruth Carter put into this movie is overwhelming. Every single time there was a costume, hair, or makeup change I was amazed and in complete awe. The costumes that I was most drawn to were those of the background characters. The man from Lupita Nyongo's tribe who had the plate in his mouth had the most stunning costume for the first challenge scene. The costumes truly transported me to Africa where tribe culture still exists.
I wish that the decision to use the women's natural hair was talked about a little more in this article. Seeing so many strong women with beautiful natural hairdos is so important. When I was young there was no one in films who wore their curly hair so I was always kind of embarrassed that I wore mine. This film is so wonderful and I am so grateful that Carter took such good care with her research.
Yay! I am so, so happy to have read this article after having seen Black Panther this past weekend! I watched an interview with Ruth Carter a few weeks ago on the choices that she made with the costumes in the movie, and this article was a great addition to the things she said there as well. The idea of combining many different clothing pieces from many African tribes and cultures from around the continent is interesting; I think that it definitely allowed the costumes to differentiate the different groups and tribes from Wakanda in the movie, but I do worry a little bit that it played into the stereotypes that people have of Africans all dressing the same. I think that because Ruth Carter's choices were so poignant and researched though, that hopefully those choices are not lost in the finalized visuals of the movie. The colors that Carter used in the costumes particularly struck me as beautiful and important, and I would like to see the movie again after having read this article.
I saw the Black Panther this last sunday and it was absolutely incredible. I especially was attracted to the costumes and all the vibrant color combinations that were muted but accentuated by the thick black tones of cloth and skin. I thought the costumes were absolutely beautiful. I was really excited to read this article and learn more about the research process that went into making this costumes. I really appreciate how thorough Ruth Carter was about researching individual African tribes and the colors they favored. It gives me more context when I think back on that one scene mentioned, his crowning ceremony. Each color is so distinctly different yet still carries the ideas of earth and nature. My favorite costumes I think were the contrast between the two black panther suits, purple and gold. Both of those colors were so strong with the sleek black suit and the contrast accented the differences between the two men fighting for power.
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