“Black Panther” Film & Costume Designer Ruth Carter

Published in

The AAMBC Journal

4 min readFeb 12, 2018

Ruth Carter has worked as a film & costume designer in Hollywood for over 40 years and her designs are spectacular. Some of her most memorable designs come from films such as Amistad, Selma, The Five Heartbeats, School Daze, and Malcolm X, to name a few. TV designs by Ruth Carter have been known to be fierce. She designs dresses and suits worn in Being Mary Jane and let’s face it, Mary Jane’s shoe game is to die for. Ruth’s designs for Black Panther film was inspired by Maasai Warriors and other African tribes.

“I had to imagine a place that didn’t get colonized by the Dutch or the British. So what would that be like? How would their culture stay intact, and what would it look like?”-Ruth Carter

In a recent interview by PRI Ruth stated, “Everything about setting up ‘Black Panther’ was new. The script, for example, was secret. They sent me some pages pulled out of the Black Panther comic book and I was like, ‘Is this what I had to prepare for this?’ And I understood the story of the Black Panther and the world of Wakanda by reading the pieces that they sent me. But I also had to go on and do my own research, and so I decided that, you know, with it taking place in a fictitious place in Africa that I could take from all of the elements of Africa and infuse it into the costumes.”

“The women in the Dora Milaje don’t need to be scantily clad. These soldiers need to have protection. They need to have arm rings and neck rings that are not only paying homage to ancient tribes, but also really practical for protection as a fighter. I want the women to have split-toed, flat boots, not have on heels like we see a lot of superheroes. We can do something different, something more realistic, and it will still be appealing.”-Ruth Carter

Black Panther Film Designs were also inspired by the Black Panther Party for Self –Defense, which was founded October 1966 by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seal. A revolutionary organization that fought against injustice of black people and established free breakfast for children programs across the country. This organization has been considered one of the most important influential black movements in America. The fact that the Black Panther Party was considered by J.E. Hoover “the greatest threat to the internal security of the country”, all because they were able to organize black people, explains why so much back lash and negative film reviews have been given for Black Panther.

Panther film (1995) is a must see. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1PmnZ9hejw

Let me proudly mention Ruth Carter is c/o 82’ alumnus of Hampton University? Discussions are frequently made about the need for Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’S), but the legacy always prove any naysayer wrong. I too, am a Hampton Grad c/o 03' alumnus and I approve every bit of this message! So shout out to all of our HBCU’S, Alumni, and supporters. Our excellence always prevails and shine! Hampton Pride!