{"id":202659,"date":"2019-02-17T21:35:16","date_gmt":"2019-02-18T02:35:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=202659"},"modified":"2019-02-17T21:35:16","modified_gmt":"2019-02-18T02:35:16","slug":"black-panther-costume-designer-blazes-trail-to-inspire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/02\/17\/black-panther-costume-designer-blazes-trail-to-inspire\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Black Panther’ costume designer blazes trail to inspire"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Carter, 58, will also be honoured Tuesday for her illustrious career at the 21st annual Costume Designers Guild Awards. (File Photo<\/a>: @therealruthecarter\/Instagram<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LOS ANGELES \u2014 Ruth E. Carter<\/a> is a black woman blazing a trail as a costume designer in a film industry with not many who look like her. But through her upcoming career achievement award and Oscar<\/a> nomination for her Afro-futuristic wardrobes in the superhero film \u201cBlack Panther<\/a>,\u201d Carter believes she can \u201cknock down\u201d more doors so others like herself can walk through them.<\/p>\n

If Carter wins an Oscar for best costume design this month, she would become the first African-American to win in the category. Despite \u201cvery stiff competition,\u201d Carter believes she has a good chance going up against Mary Zophres, Alexandra Byrne and three-time Academy Award winner Sandy Powell, who is nominated for \u201cThe Favourite\u201d and \u201cMary Poppins Returns.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m a contender,\u201d said Carter, who already won for \u201cBlack Panther’s\u201d costumes at the Critics’ Choice Awards last month and was recently honoured at New York Fashion Week.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe designers are extremely talented designers, but I’m glad that I’m giving them a run for their money,\u201d she added. \u201cThat’s how I feel. … I feel empowered. I feel invigorated. I feel masterful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carter, 58, will also be honoured Tuesday for her illustrious career at the 21st annual Costume Designers Guild Awards.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is one of my favourite people,\u201d said Danai Gurira, who starred in \u201cBlack Panther\u201d as Okoye, one of kingdom of Wakanda’s elite warriors. \u201cI’ve adored her from the minute I met her. She deserves all the honours in what she’s done and accomplished in her astounding work of beautiful integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n

In three decades, Carter has been behind-the-scenes in some of Hollywood’s biggest films. She’s garnered Oscar nominations for her work in Spike Lee’s \u201cMalcolm X\u201d and Steven Spielberg’s \u201cAmistad,\u201d and received praise for her period ensembles in other projects such as Lee Daniels’ \u201cThe Butler,\u201d Ava DuVernay’s \u201cSelma\u201d and the reboot of \u201cROOTS.\u201d She’s created costumes for Oprah Winfrey, Denzel Washington, Eddie Murphy and even Jerry Seinfeld for the \u201cSeinfeld\u201d pilot.<\/p>\n

Carter called the guild honour an \u201cincredible achievement\u201d for herself and others who desire to follow her footsteps.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis award means so much to me,\u201d she said. \u201cI believe that I will stand on that stage and look out into the audience of young women and men that have careers in costume design that I helped foster. For that achievement, it means everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carter played an influential role as lead costume designer in making Ryan Coogler’s \u201cBlack Panther\u201d a cultural phenomenon. She said she wanted to infuse the pride of African diaspora into the character’s stylish and colorful garments to help bring Wakanda to life.<\/p>\n

Angela Bassett said Carter hit the mark as usual.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe gives you a wardrobe that helps enhance your character,\u201d said Bassett, who played the mother of Chadwick Boseman’s heroic character T’Challa aka the Black Panther. She said she’s worked with Carter on other films, calling her \u201cjust warm, open, brilliant and she keeps fighting until she gets it right all the way to the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carter drew inspiration for the \u201cBlack Panther\u201d costumes after travelling to Africa, speaking with people of the continent to understand the history of each artifact to ensure the different characteristics were represented properly in the film. She had help from her team of shoppers, illustrators and researchers, along with Marvel as the overseer.<\/p>\n

All the preparation and hard work paid off. The costumes have become so popular that people from different ethnicities\u2014 young and older \u2014 have worn Black Panther-themed costumes to theatres and at parties. Some people are even discussing dressing in Wakanda couture for an Oscar brunch.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m very proud to have given these children a new superhero,\u201d she said. \u201cI’ve met young ladies that have built their costumes with their father and went into great detail about how each part was made. I just felt like there was a paradigm shift. … We just wanted to do something positive that was impactful and meaningful for people. You never know how it’s going to be received or looked at, but we felt like it reached everyone, not only African-Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carter got her first start in 1988 on Lee’s \u201cSchool Daze,\u201d the director’s second film. They’ve since worked together on more than 10 films including \u201cDo the Right Thing\u201d and \u201cJungle Fever.\u201d She’s also worked with Robert Townsend on \u201cThe Five Heartbeats\u201d and Keenen Ivory Wayans on \u201cI’m Gonna Git You Sucka.\u201d<\/p>\n

The early ’90s was a perfect time for Carter to enter into the film industry. She called herself lucky because she fit the mould for filmmakers such as Lee, Townsend and Wayans who were looking for a \u201cnew direction for the artistry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey wanted someone who was just starting out with a fresh mind and maybe could bring new ideas to the industry,\u201d she said. \u201cI was that person. I bounced back and forth between New York and L.A. for like 10 years. That’s not usual.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carter said her career reached new heights after the Oscar-nominated \u201cMalcolm X,\u201d starring Denzel Washington. That film propelled her into the \u201cHollywood makeup,\u201d offering her more opportunities to work with other directors who had different points-of-views and scripts.<\/p>\n

Carter said she has absorbed priceless knowledge through the years, and doesn’t mind sharing it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m glad that I’m out there as the one knocking down the doors,\u201d said the designer, who is currently working on \u201cDolemite Is My Name,\u201d starring Eddie Murphy. \u201cAs a black woman, I’m a trailblazer. Since I’m blazing a trail, I need some people on it. And that’s fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n

AP Entertainment Writers Alicia Rancilio and Mike Cidoni Lennox contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

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