Superheroes have a strong influence on our society, from their appearance, relationships, the way they talk and what they represent. They have fascinated us from when we were kids even till adulthood, in more ways than one. To some of us, superheroes embody the most valued qualities of society, from their overly exaggerated physical appearances to their role in fighting for justice, superpowers and even what they wear.
Movie Domination
Many would agree that the superhero film renaissance began with the X-Men movie franchise in 2000, and in a decade since then, many superhero movie franchises have taken over Hollywood‘s movie industry. Multi spinoff franchises have also started to become a lucrative money-making strategy for movie studios, as proven with 2012’s The Avengers and its 2015 sequel Avengers: Age Of Ultron, movies about an ensemble of “Earth’s mightiest heroes” saving the world, both movies that currently hold the top two spots for the biggest box office opening of all time in America. And with other superhero movie franchises coming our way in the next few years, it is safe to say that these types of movies will live on successfully in the next decade or two and whisk us into more complicated worlds of superheroes and supervillains.
Stepping Into Fashion
Truthfully, fashion and the superhero geek fandom have often been regarded to be worlds apart. However, these two seemingly disparate entities have, on more than one occasion, crossed paths, with spectacular results. In 2008, The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art hosted a themed exhibition called Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy, which featured movie costumes, haute couture and sportswear that thoroughly explored the fashion permutations of a superhero costume, from mask, cape to the bodysuit. And also in 2011, the superhero theme took over the annual Victoria’s Secret fashion show, with sky high boots, bright colours and even onomatopoeia capes.
Superhero costumes are a visual statement created by comic book artistes to not only display the diverse powers wielded by such heroes (and accentuate their figures), but also to show how these seemingly normal ‘mortals’ transform into their extraordinary alter-egos after donning their costumes. Much like how superheroes put on their costumes to assume another personality, fashion clothing also possesses the power to change our exterior, offering us that little bit of escapism and liberation as we also ‘transform’.
According to Andrew Bolton, curator of the 2008 Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, “Fashion, like the superhero, celebrates metamorphosis, providing unlimited opportunities to remake and reshape the flesh and the self. It offers entrance into another world… the freedom to fantasise, to escape the banal.”
Of course, before haute couture had their take on superheroes, comic book geeks could already satiate their fanboy and fangirl hearts with merchandise emblazoned with the logos or faces of their favourite characters. While that may always be popular in geekdom, that hasn’t stopped Marvel Entertainment (the giant behind notable superheroes and successful movie franchises) from creating a collection of ready-to-wear mens apparel that draw inspiration from their catalog of iconic characters while retaining subtle details of superheroes in each item, from small emblems, hidden pockets, to jacket linings.
What do you like best about having superheroes in fashion? Let us know in the comments section below!
