film.avclub.com: Even before Black Panther and Joker broke through to broader awards-season glory, the superhero genre enjoyed some recognition at the Oscars. Various Batmen, Hellboys, Spider-Men, Guardians Of The Galaxy, and Suicide Squads have all been honored for their visual effects and/or makeup designs over the years—a tradition that dates back to 1979, when Richard Donner’s Superman earned a Special Achievement Award for its effects at that year’s Oscars.
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When watching Birds of Pray for the first time the first thing that stood out me was the the costumes. I absolutely loved the hodge podge of pieces that seemed to come together perfectly to create unique yet practical outfits for each of the characters. I loved that they all had their own unique style that was wonderfully tailored for their own character and their character's lifestyle. The costumes appeared so natural as opposed to many superhero movies and movies in general. often it seems as though movie costumes are made from pieces that were made individually for that person and that no one in real life would ever be able to find anything similar. The Birds of Prey costumes seemed like they were made of pieces that I would be able to find if I went out shopping. And the fact that the costumes were not sexualized for the male gaze, but instead if they were sexier costumes they were that way because that was how the character would dress for themselves. Harley's hair in particular was interesting to me. The long pigtails that she wore in suicide squad were not at all practical and simply hung in her face in a stereotypically attractive way. But in Birds of prey her pigtails are short and choppy as though she did it herself because that is how she wanted it.
Birds of Prey has the most colorful and textured costumes and it’s so fun. You can tell that the costumes were designed by a woman, because they are practical and fun but not overly sexual. The last thing a superhero is going to be thinking when going to a fight is if their waist is snatched and their booty is poppin. But as much as Harleys Suicide Squad outfit was for the male gaze, I think it was actually really fitting for where her character was emotionally and how joker wanted her to dress. She was in an abusive relationship with a psychopath and he controlled everything about her. which is why she looked like a “sexy baby doll” complete with a dog collar and a “daddy’s little monster” shirt. So, I think it’s a pretty cool progression to see her liberated from that abusive control and see how much power she gains as she dresses how she wants. My favorite piece in the movie is that caution tape tassel jacket. The texture is so fun and it subtlety symbolizes party and danger, which is what Harley is all about.
*TW: mention of abuse* This was a really interesting article to read. I actually have not had the chance to watch “Birds of Prey” yet but I have seen clips of it, as well as “Suicide Squad”. Reading about the costume choices is fascinating; the element of unique personality that went into each of the costumes was well thought out. As others have discussed, the costume from “Suicide Squad” is incredibly sexual– which I think comes from a combination of the choices of the creators to make Harley Quinn be a hyper-sexualized female in the superhero genre, and the nature of Quinn’s life at that moment, in an abusive relationship with the Joker. I think the costume choices for “Birds of Prey” bring out the unique “wear what I want, do what I want” factor without creating something that comes off as super sexualized. The main theme of this idea is for a much larger discussion, but I highly recommend reading the article!
This costume design is so genuinely interesting to read about, because after watching this movie, since I am not a costume designer, I didnt really think about the costumes all that much. Looking back at screen caps from the movie reminds me what they were, and how they shaped my experience when watching the movie subconsciously. The design contributes to this overall feeling of girl power childish fun that is persistent throughout the movie, and I think that it gives us incredible insight to the characters and their inner workings. It is exciting to see designs in film and television because it is so different than what we do in theatre, yet so similar at the same time. I also never thought about the fact that superhero costuming is probably one of the most influential for society. A variation of the costume is worn by millions. It also makes me think about logo design. Whoever designed the superman logo must feel like the most secretly loved person in the world.
Costume design for projects in the modern time period is, if you ask me, criminally underrated. It’s easy to overlook the effort and the thought out behind something when it looks like any other outfit anyone would wear at a glance. It isn’t until you started truly observing them that you can admire the genius towards it. When I first watched “Suicide Squad” I definitely got the impression that Harley Quinn was just there to look pretty. It didn’t matter how much skill she showcased; her outfit told the audience what she thought of herself and therefore how we should think of her. In “Birds of Prey” however, my opinion changed in the opposite direction. I now saw Harley Quinn as a character who dressed this way because she wanted to, not because of the opinions or expectations of others. It was so refreshing watching a female lead consistently playing with an aesthetic without having it be explicitly sexualized, and for that, and many other reasons previously listed, I applaud the team.
I really enjoyed Birds of Prey. It’s a movie that knows exactly what it wants to be, what it is trying to do, and it does it so beautifully. It is self-aware, but it still takes authentic and centered on surprisingly grounded characters. I saw someone online compare the Amazon warrior outfits from Wonderwoman to the ones in Justice League. There’s a very obvious difference and it can be pretty much summed as the male gaze of a male director vs a female director. Like Wonderwoman’s outfit in her film has to do so many things, and one of those is pay homage to the comics of past so it’s never going to be this purely tactical war outfit, but it does a really good job of being a believable outfit. When I watch Wonderwoman, I say “yeah I can see her wearing that,” but when I watch Birds of Prey, I say “I want to wear that.” They are such cool outfits that never make me doubt whether these characters would actually wear them.
I absolutely loved loved seeing the costume design in "Birds of Prey". I think it really helped show exactly who Harley Quinn was as a character and how powerful she really is. Harley Quinn's costumes in the movie are so bright and colorful as well as just the right amount of crazy and weird which made me totally be like "yeah that totally something Harley Quinn would rock on a daily basis and she would look killer in it" but I also was so impressed by how practical her costumes were. Male superheroes and villains were always given these practical costumes that made them look strong as well as provide protection. Females in the same genre were put into the shortest shorts and the smallest bras to partake in a whole bunch of fight scenes. I know this is something people have pointed out a ton before but sometimes the costumes are just so small that your like "its snowing how are you not cold" or "how are you able to move in that without your boobs just popping out" or even "are you comfortable right now". Birds of Prey gave Harley Quinn costumes that allowed her to wear whatever she wanted like the short shorts and the small bras but also be practical when it came to what she would actually be wearing. It allowed Harley Quinn to use her clothes as a way to express herself, not to bring in horny teenage boys into the movie theaters.
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