The new Batgirl design has been often credited to Cameron Stewart OR Babs Tarr but rarely to the both of them. The design process was in fact a collaboration with both artists contributing to the final design.

Cameron: When DC first approached me about taking over Batgirl as writer/artist, my very first question was “can I redesign the costume?” I knew that my approach to Batgirl would be very different from the armoured-up New 52 look. The costume is the brand, and it needed to immediately reflect the tone and goals of my new storyline and approach.

Intending to do a contemporary take on the iconic Yvonne Craig costume from the 60’s tv series, and using Darwyn Cooke’s revision of Catwoman and Jamie McKelvie’s redesign of Captain Marvel as my compass, I wanted to make a costume that was modern, stylish, practical, feminine and sexy without being sexually exploitive, and the kind of thing that a 21-year old girl would want to wear - both in the comic and in real life. I also decided that it would be fun to make it something that could be assembled from real-life items of clothing (something that actually fits into the storyline). Diving into street fashion blogs, I took note of several of recurring styles and shapes and how they could be adapted into a superhero look.

Eventually I settled on a leather jacket/leggings combo with a pair of yellow lace-up boots in place of the traditional stiletto heels. After experimenting with some full-head-and-neck cowls I decided it felt more appropriate left unattached to the body, which led me to solve the problem of the cape - looking at jackets with snaps led me to come up with the idea of a removable cape fastened at the shoulders.

When Babs was confirmed as the main artist on the book, I sent her the design I’d made, and she had some suggestions.

Babs: Cameron had such a cute design when I got it! Her boots were pure brilliance and I loved her cape and snaps! It just needed some cool details - that’s where I came in!

Now if you know my work you know I draw my fair share of leather jackets and Barbara’s just needed hers punched up just a little bit! I loved the hip lines that Cameron had, and knowing the structure of ladies’ leather jackets I knew there needed to be seams on the front for her chest. This helped it look a little more sleek and fitted!

There is also a lot of nice symmetry going on in the jacket I tried to keep in mind with my additions - the angle of the bat symbol wing should reflect the angle of the cape and that same angle flipped upside-down is echoed in the center seams in the jacket. Flip up again and you’ve got the angle of the front zippers I added.