Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Catwoman

This is the 17th entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

Catwoman is a character that revels in her independence. And while she does enjoy a liberal amount of independence from other people, she still needs others and lives in a society that affects her. Catwoman was created in the 1940's to be a villain, but the character really hasn't been portrayed consistently as a villain in around thirty years. Currently, she's practically Mrs. Batman. And while she's known for her expertise at breaking and entering, she's also a formidable hand-to-hand combat opponent. She's always exhibited admiral qualities worth emulating. I should know. In high school, I wrote a thirteen page research paper on why Catwoman was a positive role model. And yes, I did get an A grade on it.

For my take, I took influences from several different looks Catwoman has had throughout the years. For many years, starting in the 1940's, her costume consisted of a purple dress with slits in the skirt and a green cape. In the 1960's, the Batman TV show happened, and she went through a couple different looks before circling back to the purple dress and green cape look in the 1970's, just with a longer skirt and cape, higher boots, and a deeper cut in the decolletage. The purple dress with splits here defeinitely pays homage to that look. Instead of a green cape, I utilized green jewelry to introduce that color into the design. The purple I used was a warmer purple, closer to the color used in her 1990's costume. The corset is a take on the corset worn by Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman in the movie Batman Returns. The lace-up sandal boots also nod to that costume. The cat ears on her head are a nod to the Catwoman costume from the 1966 Batman TV series, embellished with black diamonds here. The haircut and makeup are inspired by early designs by Joelle Jones during her run on the Catwoman comic book.

Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Catwoman" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Catwoman ©DC Comics