Costume designer Kym Barrett gives Divya Kaushik details about creating a realistic suit without using fake muscles for Andrew Garfield, who last played the superhero
The lean, lithe look that Spider-Man has in The Amazing Spider-Man, was the work of Kym Barrett, who was following in the wake of Steve Ditko, the man responsible for giving Spider-Man his unique look in the comics on which he collaborated with Stan lee.
Over the years, many artists tried their shot at redesigning Spidey’s amazing suits. From simple ‘situational’ Spidey suits, to complete character makeovers and redesigns, Spider-Man has had some ridiculous, as well as awesome costumes in comics. The costume featured in The Amazing Spider-Man is no less than a masterpiece.
The film will premiere on Sony PIX on June 16. You will find that the Spidey suit this time is a bit darker and figuratively, leaner, meaner and skintight. “It resembles a live silhouette. What I loved most about designing for The Amazing Spider-Man, was that I was not working on a stereotypical muscular hero. We studied Winter Olympics athletes’ suits and bicyclists’ clothing as our starting point. I also kept in mind that the film would be shot in 3D, and looked for ways to incorporate texture that would enhance the suit for 3D audiences. We found that we could print shadows on the fabric of the suit, and that gave it real density and depth,” shared Barrett.
She was asked to create something innovative and take into account the historic imagery of a character popular among comic book fans since his Marvel debut in the early 1960s.
Barrett began her career in theater, as a set and costume designer. Her costume design for her first film, Romeo + Juliet, lead her to the US where she designed for the film, Zero Effect.
While filming, Kym caught the eye of cinematographer Bill Pope, who insisted on her meeting with directors of his next, lana and Andy Wachowski. They selected her for their project, The Matrix Trilogy. She has collaborated twice with Robert lepage, first, Cirque Du Soleil’s 2011 Totem and second The Metropolitan Opera’s 2012 production of The Tempest. She went on to design Red Planet and Eragon for 20th Century Fox. Monster In law, Rumor Has It, Green Hornet and The Amazing Spider-Man for Sony Pictures. Gothica, Three Kings, Speed Racer and Cloud Atlas for Warner Brothers. She is currently in production for Warner Brother’s.Jupiter Ascending
“We used a lot of computer design elements and techniques. We created 3D prints in fabrics, which was created in layers, with elasticised printing ink. I had to take into account the colours. They had to be much brighter, for the desired look,” shared Barrett.
She informed that lenses for Spider-Man’s mask were made by a manufacturing company which creates sunglass lenses for the military and NASA. Coated to reduce reflection, they feature a blue-tinted optical lens with a gold hexagon mirrored pattern printed on top. The end result was impressive — especially to the man who would wear it — Andrew Garfield.
“The suit took 20 minutes for him to put on. The amazing part was that because the suit was created keeping in mind his actual physique, and we didn’t rely on fake muscles, the suit fit perfectly as a layer on the body. The idea was to keep the look leaner and as per Garfield’s actual physique was to give modern interpretation to the superhero,” commented Barrett. To create precise lines, Barrett placed a body stocking over his body and followed his muscles and contours with a pen to keep the suit fit.
“I also worked with costume illustrators and concept artists, using shadow and contour to create the illusion that the suit was thick, when it was actually thin. Aside from emitting a thick, organic look, the prototype suit had to cope with a lengthy shooting schedule and water exposure. We also hid zippers and fasteners,” she added.