Abstract:
In the fictional world of superheroes, the dialogue between supernatural abilities and
fashion is not new. Since the emergence of comics in the 1930s as a distinct
entertainment medium in American popular culture, the superhero wardrobe has been
communicating narratives through a combination of text and sequential illustration that
functions within an aesthetic vocabulary of coded symbolism. The superhero wardrobe
speaks of the identities of the wearer and serves to highlight the supernatural abilities and
attributes of hislher heroic status. As part of an iconic signifier, the tiber garment and its
accessories, armoured breastplates, masks, epaulets and gauntlets constructed of steel,
separates those with superhuman strength from 'mere' mortals and sets the costumewearer
apart from conventional society. As an embodied practice, fashion succeeds in
signifying industrial strength associated with the ideal hyper-muscular superhero body:
the look of power, virility and prowess. In the domain of superheroes, fashion really does
matter.
