No matter what one takes away from the Disney+ series Moon Knight, the costumes are definitely a memorable addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Be it Marc Spector’s mummy-inspired costume that is closer to the 616’s design or Steven Grant’s Mr. Knight suit. Add in the fact that they can seamlessly switch between them for whatever the situation desires, it creates a rather unique situation where the different suit designs become an organic aspect of the character’s fighting style. In an interview with The Direct, designer Meghan Kasperlik offered some insight into how they approached the designs.
First off, she talked about how the mummy inspiration was pushed by Mohamed Diab. The Egyptian director wanted to have aspects of his culture inspire the costumes, which added this unique aspect of texture, and even created a stronger binding to how Khonshu views a “strong suit.” It brings together many aspects from across the comic history with a new culturally-relevant update.
Just like any type of superhero thing, there’s lots of iterations of the same suit. Mohamed Diab is one of the directors, and he’s Egyptian. He really wanted to focus on the mummy aspect of it, and being really Egyptian. So it was more about incorporating the strength of the armor and also the mummy aspect. But I think it was a beautiful bridge because it brings in Khonshu from thousands of years ago to what we would probably think of today as being a very strong suit. So I think it was an amazing blend because there is that [part of] both worlds. Like you have kind of that old world, but you also have the new…
Meghan Kasperlik
Yet, there was one big issue she was facing with the design of Mr. Knight’s costume. While the white three-piece suit is quite an iconic addition, there was a different issue at hand. In the comics it’s a pure white suit and as a drawing doesn’t require any details, especially given how it plays with shadows from an artist’s standpoint. Yet, if we’re talking live-action and the influence of lighting, it becomes a different problem altogether.
When I came on, I was a little bit concerned about the three-piece suit because it can go so flat. So my team searched far and wide for a fabric that could give—that had a little texture to it. I love to put a lot of texture to any of the designs I do. So, there’s texture in it, and it’s actually an upholstery fabric because I knew that we would be outside with it, and the costume would be getting dirty and we would need to keep it clean and keep that freshness.
Meghan Kasperlik
To avoid this issue, it seems they found a way to weave silver lemay into the fabric to make it pop when light hits it. She highlights a certain “luminescence” which has the added bonus of making the suit not only pop but add to its otherworldliness.
So between the texture in there, the upholstery fabric giving it a little extra help—there’s also a silver lemay that is woven into the fabric, so when the light hits it, it doesn’t just go flat. There’s a little luminescence that comes off of it, so that was really important. We kept that texture going in the waistcoat, and then there’s a texture on the tie and everything. So [along with] having a lot of texture on the mask it just really helps the character.
Meghan Kasperlik
They are definitely some of the best-designed suits in the MCU, and with Lockley’s arrival, we may even have a chance for a third addition moving forward. It’s unclear what the future has in store for these characters, but there’s a lot of excitement moving forward on what they might do next, especially as it’s common for these costumes to get some updates throughout their appearances moving forward and a potential third additional suit.
Source: The Direct
