Michael Wilkinson designed the modern Wonder Woman costume for the character’s debut in Batman v. Superman, taking elements from her classic costume design and blending them with modern fantasy costume techniques and Bronze Age armor design. The white elements have been stripped away in order to remove any comparisons to the American flag, but the star motif remains in her tiara, along with the W insignia on her chest and belt (which would naturally need some explaining, much in the same way Superman’s family tends to walk around depictions of Krypton wearing big S’s on their chests), the red, blue and gold color scheme, and even some mild avian-inspired elements. She’s still in a strapless bustier and still sporting a tiara and bracelets, but the entire feel of the costume is decidedly different; more armor-like, more fantasy-inspired. The star-spangled panties have been switched out for a take on a Bronze Age battle skirt and she’s sporting a significant amount of brown leather in the form of straps, wraps and closures.
Lindy Hemming, as the Wonder Woman film’s costume designer, had the task of taking Wilkinson’s extrapolated costume design for the main character and extrapolating it even further to develop her background and personality. Let’s start with the easiest visuals to analyze: colors. What colors does Diana wear when she’s not in her battle armor? The colors found in her battle armor.
Red (in the form of a sweeping cloak that makes reference to the cloaks she and her mother wear) … Blue (in the form of a Grecian-inspired gown which is both on-point for 1917 fashion and also a reference to her Amazonian background, which is also referred to by the irregular bust, evoking both the legend of Amazons cutting off their breasts for archery and also a callback to the Amazonian armor seen earlier in the film) … And gold (which ties her firmly to the her mother the Queen, making her stand out from the other Amazons but also tying her directly to the gold-studded design aesthetic of Themyscira; a princess of her people who stands apart from them in a gilded cage). This approach to costume design works very well at the task of turning a flat, two-dimensional image of a character into a living, breathing person, with relationships, a background, and a sense of internal consistency. Plus it just works as a visual, constantly reminding you of who she is. Note how the W motif extends to the edges of her gauntlets and how the avian motif is reflected in her mother’s armor. This is how Hemming created an entire cultural aesthetic by extrapolating from a 75-year-old superhero costume.
