Hewwo dee!! Here to give my two cents ♥ re: designing superhero stuff, a lot of costume design for fantasy settings where you can't do much direct irl research falls under logical dissection of Why That Clothing vs Iconic Design - skintight clothing is so popular because almost every superhero is an active, athletic role, but striking colours and motifs are really integral!! For instance-
Think about a hero with a brash personality, who leans hard into physicality. Inspiration can come from any number of sports and what people wear, but their powerset is also super important to take into account - any hero with something like invulnerability is only going to be hindered by kneepads and the likes, where it might be a lifesaver for more frail ones!! But in comparison to a more stoic or mature hero who might go off the same basic athletic/combat gear, the brash archetype can be communicated through ragged edges to clothes, more jagged motifs, potentially a more brutal weapon if they use one!!
Personally what I like to do is come to a logical idea of what Works for a hero and their powers, then expand on that through their personality and what they want to project. If they have wings, a skintight top might not work unless it's backless; would they want to sacrifice exposure for aesthetic? do they have the capacity to alter their own clothing to make it work if it wouldn't, or do they lean more into scrounging? Or for a hero who needs to keep their identity a secret, they might want to wear looser clothing so their body's distorted and it's more difficult to glean anything. And how easily does this person want to be able to get in and out of their costume?
and of course it's always super important to make it fun!! Even the most practical hero is going to eventually embellish their costume in some way to make it Theirs, so after all the practicality or lack therof is taken care of, find some fun aspects that speak to the kind of hero they are!! a flowy scarf for an agile hero to emphasise their Sick Flips, metalic piping for a little flare, maybe some nice ombre's for the shadowy or light-based types. There's a lot more freedom with stuff like hero costumes, but that can lead to decision paralysis so starting with the practical elements and building on that can make this part more fun imo!!!
I don't know if any of that actually helps but superhero and fantasy design is something I love So Much so I hope it does!!! Care you!!
ELLORAAAA <33
this is such a great reply ty!! lots of really good points on practicality and what makes sense for power sets, thank you for taking the time to write all that out :D hope you’re having a lovely day!!
