For this post I wanted to try giving a wider design process description. So let's see how this goes.
First off I decided to design wonder woman because her new costume made me interested in the history of character, and her costume.
Basically this meant I had to research the character since I never really read her comics.
The things that grabbed me about Wonder Woman is that she's one of the oldest super heroes, and she's the most well known female superhero out there.
Although she has suffered from a lot of flaws. Mostly these are the fault of some bad writers and the fact that she was born in an era were women suffered a lot of disrespect. In her comics she always had problems that were pretty much just silly, she was constantly being tied up (often by her own lasso), and her main love interest steve trevor was pretty much just a tool. She's also been given the unfortunate title of a man-hater due to certain writers, and really that goes against the concept of the character.
What Wonder Woman really flourishes on is an ideal. She's a strong female character which is very important considering the time she was created. It's unfortunate that she's been subjected to a costume that becomes sleazier depending on the artist, along with the millions of T&A shots that really don't command respect in anyway, but her basic concept of a woman stronger than any mortal man is really interesting, and something to be proud of.
The character always shined best in team stories. She was always a riskier character than the more moral superman, and she is often shown as a strong female to other super heroines. All in all she's a cool character and all her traits really show the trials of woman and man in general.
So now for the design. I decided her classic look was really far off from what I think her character would be like. For one thing I think the greek warrior look would be lost on the modern world. Instead I focused on the patriotic look that has always been a part of her design. I see that as her own calling for acceptance.
I decided that instead of giving her a star spangled uniform I wanted her look to be intwined with american culture. Rolled up sleeves harken back to Rosie the riveter, and a more working class woman look. I also decided to give her a dress that was cute as well as feminine. I thought that actually would make her a lot more empowering. In the 40's the concept of a woman wearing a short shirt may have been a feminist statement, but really that statement is kind of dead ever since the sexual revolution in the 60's. It's time for her to cover up. I kept the skirt short as to benefit the design, but the leggings keep her modesty.
I decided it looked better to keep her logo off of the dress and instead make it part of the belt design. In the end the superhero aspect is more subtle but I think it works out.
Hopefully it's also noticeable that her appearance is based on a certain actress pertinent to the history of Wonder Woman.
