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SUPERHERO costume designers have one of the most fantastical jobs in the world, but it’s not all comic strips, capes and kick-ass weapons. “There must be logic to the character arcs, even though they’re fictional,” according to costume designer Lindy Hemming. Currently basking in the box-office success and critical acclaim of Wonder Woman, for which she designed lead actress Gal Gadot’s costumes, Hemming “isn’t sure that a fantasy outfit helps us believe in a modern-day superhero”.

“For me, the costumes should have a credible story as to why the character looks like they do in everyday life and when they transform into superhero mode,” she told us. “If there’s not a strong background, I enlist the actor to create a story which allows me to come up with an original take on the costume design.”

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“For Gal, I used Michael Wilkinson’s Wonder Woman battle costume from 2016’s Batman v Superman as inspiration so that there would be continuity between films. I always have the added burden of responsibility to fans of the graphic novels where the heroic characters originated.”

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“As with most superheroes, Wonder Woman’s costume has evolved over the decades, and is influenced by the social culture of the period, and by feminist ideas," Hemming continued. "Her look has caused much controversy with dedicated comic followers."

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Authenticity aside, superhero suits take months of painstaking construction to finesse. For Gadot’s close-fitting armour, Hemming contracted a sculptor to transform her sketches into a clay mannequin. Once dried, the 20 individual parts of the clay suit were reproduced in soft urethane, which Hemming likens to a more malleable car bumper. Tailors, meanwhile, constructed a light-boned corset to attach the parts to. Once assembled, specialist artists painted the urethane the colour of the precious metals we associate with Wonder Woman’s suit, as well as ageing details and damage from the battles she has fought in. Once everything fitted Gadot like a second skin (a process which took numerous fittings), 20 identical versions were crafted using the same process.

The Wonder Woman film isn’t the first time Gadot has stepped into the Amazonian warrior’s armour-clad boots , the actress first took up the superhero role in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice alongside Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill as Batman and Superman respectively. © Rex

Making "repeats" comes part and parcel with Hemming’s job, as previous stints on the sets of Tomb Raider and Batman Begins have taught her. When creating Angelina Jolie’s Lara Croft suit, the second-skin finish meant that duplicates had to be discarded as soon as wrinkles, scuffs or creases were visible.

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“Originally, we tried to collaborate with a famous wetsuit manufacturer, however they didn’t have the technology to make invisible seams,” Hemming recalled. “Simple-looking costumes are often the hardest to pull off. Angelina was so tuned-in to the design, I’ve never worked with an actress who was so interested in colour, or the lack of it.”

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And then, of course, there’s the accessories. For Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman in Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan and Hemming formulated a weapon that would be disguised in the heel of her cat burglar’s boot. “That was a decision that caused me great trouble,” she laughed. “I had to design and produce, in multiple, a serrated knife heel that would be safe to wear in action scenes, yet in keeping with my vision of Catwoman as Audrey Hepburn meets Thierry Mugler: fashionably-understated and always in black.”

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“The other challenge was creating Catwoman's ears in a way that made sense,” Hemming revealed, before adding: “Who in their right mind would wear cat ears, and why? After much wrangling, I decided her night-vision goggles would moonlight as ears when pushed on top of her hair. A 3D printer was used to realise these optical ears, which used jewellers' magnifying eyepieces in the end".

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Taking apart wetsuits, fitting knives into boot heels and painting urethane are processes that Hemming deems worth it to achieve her end goal, and her efforts have been recognised by the Academy - she won the 2000 Oscar for her costume design in Topsy Turvy. “My favourite memory was coming face-to-face with a gigantic poster of Lara Croft when stepping out for coffee in Los Angeles,” she explained. “Angelina in her custom-made seamless silver wetsuit with gun holsters and backpack, stood before me as tall as a block of flats. She looked like a goddess in something so complicated to make, yet so simple and sleek to look at. It was thrilling to see."

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