Black Widow Cosplay – Suit Design Analysis

I have 55 days until Emerald City Comicon, meaning I have 55 days to make my Black Widow cosplay – that’s plenty of time right? Over the next just under two months I’ll post my progress and my process in the hope that if someone ever wants to make their very own Black Widow this will be a handy reference guide.

My first step in creating a cosplay that replicates and existing costume is the analysis phase. Basically it involves me pouring over as many images as I can find, sighing over the poor resolution when I zoom in to look at the ity bity details, and a few expletives directed at the designer thrown in for good measure. Black Widow’s costume from the Avengers movie can be separated out into two main parts – the suit and the accessories. This post I will go over the suit design and the next post I will cover the accessories.

Here are links to the reference photos that I have been using:
Costume Front
Costume Back 1
Costume Back 2
Collection of Images
MOAR photos

The Suit

The seams and the material are the two most distinctive features of the suit, really they are the only features, otherwise is it just a black catsuit. I will note here that I am a lazy perfectionist which means as much as I have the time, money and energy I will endeavour to replicate these two things for my cosplay – but I’ll be honest there will be plenty of simplification along the way.

I will likely base the final suit on this kwik sew pattern or a similar one, and then add in the seams and fit it as needed.

Seams

So my first conclusion is that whomever designed this suit has an odd and undying passion for seams, either that or they were drunk when they made it. Possibly both. Below is my sketch of my best analysis of the seams on the suit. The lighter lines are the ‘minor’ seams while the heavy ones are the ‘major’ seams from an aesthetic standpoint.

The major seams are the more distinctive components of her costume, and these ones I will definitely be incorporating in my cosplay. They do not look like normal seams, to get that sort of look I am considering sewing bias tape along the edges of the seams before I sew the pieces together, the other option is some sort of tape over the top once it is constructed. The minor seams are less important and I may or may not end up having them, we shall see.

The suit is also cut form fitting but on the looser side, which may account for some of the seams – to give it a good fit without pulling the fabric or relying on the stretch.

Material

Her suit is definitely form fitting, so probably some sort of 4-way stretch to give good range of motion. But you can see some looseness around the joints (elbows/arms/shoulders) and the way the fabric folds that indicates there is some bulk to the fabric. Plus that texture, which who knows where that comes from!

With those things in mind I have ordered some fabric samples from Spandex World. When they arrive I will let you know which one I go with and why.

Milliskin Matte
Moleskin Matte
Stretch Neoprene
Rayon Coolmax Lycra

I am thinking the neoprene may have the best luck in terms of covering all three criteria, but I do have to wear it for extended periods of time so I am totally willing to exchange comfort for accuracy.

Miscellaneous

The zipper is a fairly chunky visible zipper, I have seen some conflicting images that suggest it could be black or silver. But given I think black would look better I am going to go with black.

Shield patches, considering they are attached to the suit I’m going to talk about them here. They appear to be plastic and sort of shiny, possibly cast silicon. I may make them out of vinyl and glue or silicon mold if I am feeling fancy. I also found the shield patches on etsy, which look awesome this it is possible this will turn into a purchased component.