Armani meets Batman at superhero exhibit
NEW YORK — As Batman, Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk and other superheroes flood the movie screens this summer, is it any wonder that Giorgio Armani, Jean Paul Gaultier and other leading fashion designers are not far behind?
What do haute couturiers have to do with comic book creatures that drive Batmobiles, have the strength of tanks or inflate their muscles like a giant green Michelin man weighing 1,500 pounds?
As it turns out, they have quite a lot in common, as “Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy,” a new exhibit by The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, vividly illustrates. Sponsored by Italian designer Armani, the exhibit features 60 ensembles, including movie costumes, designer apparel and high-performance outfits for professional sports, and runs until Sept. 1.
Both fashion designers and superheroes reflect society’s changing views of the ideal body and the social and political messages expressed through attire, whether the slinky black catsuit of Catwoman or the indomitable armor of Iron Man.
Modern superheroes are the direct heirs and heiresses of the larger-than-life figures that have populated human history for millennia. So, it makes perfect sense, said curator Andrew Bolton, that Captain Marvel’s signature utterance SHAZAM! is an acronym of Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury.
“It’s rather entertaining to consider superheroes” within the context of the museum that is “full of superheroes,” said museum director Philippe de Montebello, noting that depictions of Hercules, Diana the Huntress and Perseus holding the head of Medusa are among the sculptures in the galleries of ancient art adjacent to the new costume exhibit.
“Like their biblical and mythological ancestors, superheroes have been conduits for our hopes, dreams and desires,” wrote Bolton in his introduction to the show.
The basic elements of the modern superhero’s wardrobe — cape, mask, unitard and boots — date back to the appearance of Superman in 1938, who borrowed the components from the outfits of circus acrobats and strongmen.
So it is fitting that the first of several types of superhero body explored in the exhibit concerns Superman. His iconic red S emblem emblazoned in a yellow shield on his royal blue-clad torso is not only instantly identifiable but often reprised over the years in dresses and men’s T-shirts.
Equally graphic and influential in fashion is Spider-Man, who was born yet again in 2007’s movie “Spider-Man 3.” The exhibit includes the costume worn in the film by star Tobey Maguire. The emblematic web motif, so consonant with Spider-Man, also has been interpreted, for example, in a coral silk gown overlaid with mother-of-pearl webbing by French designer Gaultier in 2003 and a bronze silk gown with crystal webbing by Armani in 1990.
But, then things get more bizarre. The body exemplified by the enormously muscled Incredible Hulk is interpreted by Belgian designer Walter Van Beirendonckall in a man’s jacket with inflatable air pockets that mimic muscles.
Then Catwoman comes in, with her dominatrix-like black leather catsuit and stilettos. No shortage of inspiration there, as seen in many corset-y leather looks over the decades by the Sicilian design team Dolce & Gabbana in 2007 and by the late Italian designer Gianni Versace in 1992.
What do haute couturiers have to do with comic book creatures that drive Batmobiles, have the strength of tanks or inflate their muscles like a giant green Michelin man weighing 1,500 pounds?
As it turns out, they have quite a lot in common, as “Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy,” a new exhibit by The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, vividly illustrates. Sponsored by Italian designer Armani, the exhibit features 60 ensembles, including movie costumes, designer apparel and high-performance outfits for professional sports, and runs until Sept. 1.
Both fashion designers and superheroes reflect society’s changing views of the ideal body and the social and political messages expressed through attire, whether the slinky black catsuit of Catwoman or the indomitable armor of Iron Man.
Modern superheroes are the direct heirs and heiresses of the larger-than-life figures that have populated human history for millennia. So, it makes perfect sense, said curator Andrew Bolton, that Captain Marvel’s signature utterance SHAZAM! is an acronym of Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury.
“It’s rather entertaining to consider superheroes” within the context of the museum that is “full of superheroes,” said museum director Philippe de Montebello, noting that depictions of Hercules, Diana the Huntress and Perseus holding the head of Medusa are among the sculptures in the galleries of ancient art adjacent to the new costume exhibit.
“Like their biblical and mythological ancestors, superheroes have been conduits for our hopes, dreams and desires,” wrote Bolton in his introduction to the show.
The basic elements of the modern superhero’s wardrobe — cape, mask, unitard and boots — date back to the appearance of Superman in 1938, who borrowed the components from the outfits of circus acrobats and strongmen.
So it is fitting that the first of several types of superhero body explored in the exhibit concerns Superman. His iconic red S emblem emblazoned in a yellow shield on his royal blue-clad torso is not only instantly identifiable but often reprised over the years in dresses and men’s T-shirts.
Equally graphic and influential in fashion is Spider-Man, who was born yet again in 2007’s movie “Spider-Man 3.” The exhibit includes the costume worn in the film by star Tobey Maguire. The emblematic web motif, so consonant with Spider-Man, also has been interpreted, for example, in a coral silk gown overlaid with mother-of-pearl webbing by French designer Gaultier in 2003 and a bronze silk gown with crystal webbing by Armani in 1990.
But, then things get more bizarre. The body exemplified by the enormously muscled Incredible Hulk is interpreted by Belgian designer Walter Van Beirendonckall in a man’s jacket with inflatable air pockets that mimic muscles.
Then Catwoman comes in, with her dominatrix-like black leather catsuit and stilettos. No shortage of inspiration there, as seen in many corset-y leather looks over the decades by the Sicilian design team Dolce & Gabbana in 2007 and by the late Italian designer Gianni Versace in 1992.
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