Costumer Ruth Carter’s Heroes Do Battle in Style

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.