It was a monstrous task to create the African-inspired futuristic costumes in “Black Panther,” the highest-grossing superhero movie in U.S. history.
Costume designer Ruth Carter led the noble charge like one of the movie’s bald, female warriors.
The costumes had to be spellbinding but functional, so the characters could pounce, kick, jab or simply glide across the room with ease. She and her team created hundreds of striking designs and incorporated clothing items and adornments from their travels to bring the fictional world of Wakanda to life….
…The film’s hundreds of costumes are currently being stored in a warehouse in Los Angeles when they aren’t on display across the country, Carter said.
A graduate of Hampton University in Virginia with a degree in theater arts, Carter began her career working in theater and later moved to Los Angeles, where she met director Spike Lee. He hired her first for “School Daze,” then for his other films, such as “Do the Right Thing,” “Mo Better Blues,” “Jungle Fever” and “Malcolm X.”
“I wish I could say I was the girl who sat down and made all her clothes, or I had a grandma who taught me how to sew, but I had a brother who taught me how to paint,” she said. “So I look at costumes as wearable art, and that’s how I approach it.”
That Carter is a costume designer in Hollywood, which continues to have issues regarding its lack of ethnic and racial diversity, is significant. Things are changing, she said.
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