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There was a time when super-hero movies were colorful circuses of artifice and joy. Remember the pop iconography of Christopher Reeves' Superman, Tim Burton's Batman or the Punk stylings of Tank Girl? It all changed with the dawn of the 21st century. X-Men brought on an era of heroes dressed in many tedious iterations of leather jumpsuits, while Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy made grittiness cool again. Explosions of poppy color were out and grim pseudo-realism was in.
The DC Comics flicks took the trend to its desaturated limit, but even the MCU is guilty of indulging in this aesthetic stagnation. Fortunately, some films break the convention, be it the Afrofuturistic haute couture of Black Panther or Aquaman's glitzy excess. We can add Birds of Prey to that elite club of stylish super-hero flicks…
Cathy Yan's riotous vision of Gotham City abandons any sort of realistic grubbiness from minute one. The movie starts with an animated prologue and it only gets more cartoony as it transitions to live-action and Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn takes center stage. Suicide Squad's underwritten sex kitten has transformed into an embodiment of merry anarchy like a Looney Toons rascal made flesh. Her clothes are now a heady mixture of utility and glitter, urban fashion turned to eleven and hints of character idiosyncrasies. From a plastic jacket with sleeves made of shredded caution tape to a pair of golden overalls, Harley is a style icon.
Costume designer Erin Benach looked at a variety of references to design these killer looks. Sometimes, it was old episodes of Days of Our Lives, other times it was Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Regarding that latter one, it's super fun to watch Margot Robbie stepping into the legacy of Marilyn Monroe, following the example of Madonna, Nicole Kidman, and Rachel Bloom. However, this time around, the pink satin outfit is a pantsuit instead of a tight gown, signaling the pop feministic energy this movie's aiming for. All that said, we should point out that Harley isn't Birds of Prey's only fashionable diva.
Ewan McGregor, for instance, gets a bunch of jaunty suits in plush velvets and sequined patterns. The sadistic villain is a maximalist that spits on the face of Coco Chanel's famous advice. He never looks in the mirror and takes off the last thing he put on. This bad guy might even add one more, or two to be safe. That style ethos is followed by almost all the characters with the possible exception of Chris Messina's Victor Zsasz. The crime lord's henchman parades around in nothing more complicated than stripped short-sleeved shirts and tight trousers.
With his bleached hair and genetically blessed visage, he's a handsome bit of eye candy, though he never distracts the audience from the oily cruelty of McGregor or the pizazz of the heroines. Black Canary, in particular, gets some of the best outfits, including a flashy fishnet gown she wears when singing onstage. Jurnee Smollett-Bell looks amazing, but then, as we've established, we could say the same about most cast members. Even the extras get some eye-popping looks, showing the importance of costume design in world-building and the setting of a specific mood. It's not subtle costuming and it isn't chic. However, it's perfectly spectacular.
What Birds of Prey costume would you like to get your hands on and add to your personal wardrobe?