Costumer Ruth Carter’s Heroes Do Battle in Style
The Black Panther designer shares her inspirations for the hit fit.
-
CategoryArts + Culture, Film + TV
Awash in color, contrast and a distinct “Afrofuturism,” the costumes Ruth Carter created for the blockbuster hit Black Panther meld warrior wear and national identity with stunning synergy.
According to a story that ran in California Sunday, “Carter is known for costuming films that capture defining moments in African American history. She has clothed Malcolm X for Spike Lee and Martin Luther King Jr. for Ava DuVernay, the Selma marchers and the Amistad slaves. Black Panther is her first foray into the superhero genre. ‘Never before in Hollywood have we had a chance to show the continent intellectually—it had all been Africa, dirt floors,’ Carter says. ‘We were trying to understand ancient African culture in a way that didn’t look ‘savage’ but looked glorious, kingly, warrior-like.’”
You can read more about Ruth’s Black Panther journey and her specific costume choices here.
25 Years Ago, Two California Bands Helped Kick Off Punk Music’s “Second Wave”
Call it post-punk, or anything but punk, but something happened in 1994 that jolted the music scene.
Lee Clow Is California’s Mad Man
A generation of creatives made their mark in advertising far from Manhattan. None of those upstarts is more revered than Lee Clow.
