Costume design in movies and TV shows may be an oversight to most viewers, but big-time fans and critics can easily spot questionable decisions or shoddy workmanship. These are some of the strangest and most controversial costuming choices in film history...
Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad
Harley Quinn is an iconic villain in the Batman series. When Suicide Squad was first announced, comic book fans rejoiced at Quinn's "girl boss" attitude that was a bit different than the way she had been portrayed previously. Of course, there were many traditionalists who were upset that her jester costume was nowhere to be found. The designers had to come out and say that they made the outfit choices based on the character’s personality.
Leelo in Fifth Element
Fifth Element was packed to the brim with bizarre costumes. Milla Jovovich's bandage bikini was possibly the most memorable. Many people felt like it was too revealing for Jovovich to wear at the beginning of a movie. Of course, for the actor, it wasn't a big deal. She said that it felt like a bikini and she had no idea what the issue was.
Captain Marvel in Captain Marvel
When Brie Larson was shown in a green costume, fans were rightfully upset. Captain Marvel was supposed to be sporting red white and blue, and this costume was not it. The filmmakers said the green costume that was seen in behind-the-scenes photos was authentic to the comics, as she wore it in the beginning.
Mickey Rooney in Breakast at Tiffany's
One of the most offensive costumes and castings was in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Mickey Rooney was cast as an Asian character named Mr. Yunioshi. Obviously, Rooney is not Asian. The costume and character was both very stereotypical and offensive. Naturally, back in the day, this wasn't a "big deal," but fortunately racism in Hollywood is no longer able to hide behind the guise of a gag joke.
Aladdin and Jasmine in Aladdin
For the live-action adaption of this Disney classic, the costume designers decided to dress up the main characters a bit more. That meant that Aladdin wore a shirt, and Jasmine covered up her midriff. Most people were shocked that the filmmakers lost the pair's iconic costumes, but the designers claimed it would be better for them to cover up in 2019.
Green Lantern in Green Lantern
I know, we don't like to talk about Green Lantern... But, we have to. The design team decided to go full CGI for the costume. Sadly, it was extremely obvious that Green Lantern's costume was all computer images. The directors said that they wanted to try something innovative but realized it backfired.
Joker in Joker
There have been so many "Jokers" that the costume crew for this film had to get creative with his look. Naturally, their choices were controversial for the comic book stans who call themselves purists. The Joker's purple and green ensemble became a thing of the past. Instead, they went with a primary color palette.
Psylocke in X-Men: Apocalypse
The strong and scantily-clad Psylocke was introduced in this new movie. A lot of X-men fans felt that this costume was too provocative and strayed away from her ultimate power. Olivia Munn, who played Psylocke, defended the costume by saying that it didn't matter what the character wore... It shouldn't detract from her personality!
Kirk Lazarus in Tropic Thunder
The casting of Robert Downey Jr. as a white actor who plays an African-American man in a film by wearing blackface was a hot topic for months after its release. Downey defends the decision to this day, claiming that the controversial choice was meant to be ironic.
Mystique in X-Men: First Class
Jennifer Lawrence endured hours in the makeup chair for this role. In the comics, Mystique had many costumes, including a famous white dress with a slit up the side. In the movie, the costume designers decided that the character should forego clothing entirely.. She is a mutant, after all.
Batman in Batman & Robin
For some reason, Batman has nipples showing through his suit. Naturally, everyone thought it was bizarre and hilarious that his nipples would somehow poke through his bullet-proof suit. Director Joel Schumacher claimed that the addition of the nipples was intended to mimic the statues of Greek gods. Sure, Joel.
Quicksilver in X-Men
Quicksilver makes an appearance in both Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron and the Fox versions of the X-Men movies. Marvel chose to stick with the comic book look, but the Fox filmmakers decided to give him a makeover. Most comic book fans were outraged by the quirky and dorky costume design.
Fat Amy in Pitch Perfect 3
Rebel Wilson released images of her and several castmates for Pitch Perfect which ended up causing a storm of controversy because Wilson was wearing was way less revealing outfits than on the other actors. Some fans felt it was a form of body shaming. The costume designer was quick to speak up and made a statement saying that there were two costumes and each actor could choose between them.
Sage Ross in Nocturnal Animals
Jena Malone wore a pretty unique costume for her role as museum curator Sage Ross. Many people felt like it was too abrasive and took away from the actual character. Director Tom Ford pushed back against the notion and said that it was a valid choice and that any art lover would want to dress in a way that expressed themselves.
The Girl in The Seven Year Itch
This iconic scene, filmed in 1955, stirred up quite the controversy in Hollywood and in Monroe's personal life. They were filming on a public city street and surrounded by numerous photographers when Monroe had her dress to quickly blow up before pushing it back down, creating the "look." Rumor has it that this very act is what ended her marriage with Joe DiMaggio (although they were already on unsteady grounds).
Padma & Parvati Patil in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
The Yule Ball in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was a memorable scene. All of the kids at Hogwarts dressed up in formal dresses and suits. Harry and Ron took the Patil sisters to the ball, yet the girls’ attire didn’t seem as put together as the rest of the characters. Many viewers commented that the outfits worn by the sisters were literally everyday attire for Indian women. The designers claimed that it was an attempt to put more of a focus on the gown worn by Hermione... Likely story.
Wasp in Ant-Man and the Wasp
Wasp’s costume in the movie was much less bright and colorful than the original character that was drawn by Jack Kirby. The designers said that functionality was more important than creating a costume that would please the comic book enthusiasts. This costume was suited best for the actress because she could breathe well in it.
Loki in Thor
Loki garnered a devout following after the release of the first film, but his costume choices received some harsh words. In fact, it seemed like the pants were a bit little snug in between his legs. The designers fixed it for the following movies.
Merida in Brave
Merida's design was different than the classic doe-eyed Disney heroine. When a 2D drawing of Merida was released by Disney, people were up in arms over her "glow up." Disney claimed that this was just an example image of her formal attire to be inaugurated as the eleventh Disney princess, but who knows what their true intentions were. Princesses don't have to be covered in sparkles all of the time!
Cleopatra in Cleopatra
In the 1917 version of Cleopatra, way more than skin was shown than what audiences were comfortable with. The designers wanted as the costumes to be as accurate as possible, so they weren't really bothered.
Bella in Twilight: Eclipse
Despite the popularity of this franchise, they were best known for the horrible wigs. Kristen Stewart had recently filmed a movie based on The Runaways and had to cut her hair for the role. That meant that the crew of Twilight had to figure out a wig for her stat. It didn't really work out, and it was super noticeable, especially among hardcore fans.
The X-Men in The X-Men (2000)
Yes... the entire cast of The X-Men had some of the most controversial costume choices to date. In the comic book series and the 90s cartoon series, the X-Men gang all wore blue and yellow uniforms. For the movie, director Bryan Singer decided to go with an all-black ensemble. Naturally, this enraged many devout fans.
Ozymandias in Watchmen
Watchmen did a pretty good job at staying true to the original series in terms of costume design, except for one unfortunate character… Ozymandias. The directors decided to go from the purple cloth and jewelry of the original design and move towards a more "modern" superhero movie look. For some reason, that means that the character's nipples were put into the design. Weird.
Captain America in The Avengers
The Avengers introduced some changes to Captain America's costume. The colors were way brighter and the mask was part of the costume instead of a separate piece. A lot of fans felt like that made the costume cheesy and cheap-looking. The designers wanted to go more "traditional" but it didn't really work. Fans were not pleased, but are they ever?
Emma Frost in X-Men: First Class
In X-Men: First Class, a lot of fans felt like it wasn't fair to keep showing Emma Frost, played by January Jones, as an overly-sexualized character. One of the writers of the film claimed that her outfits had become part of a running bit, but those scenes were cut for time.
Catwoman in Catwoman
Apparently, fans weren't pleased with Catwoman getting her own movie in the first place, and her costume made things even worse. Fans were expecting her traditional and iconic catsuit, but instead, they got some strappy leather outfit that did not fit the narrative whatsoever.
Jane in Tarzan and His Mate
In 1934, the main controversy of this film was Jane's outfit. Maureen O’Sullivan was seen on the silver screen wearing a very revealing skirt and top. Critics felt that it was way too revealing for her, despite the fact that Tarzan himself was barely clothed.
Django in Django Unchained
Critics were pretty impressed with Quentin Tarantino's adaption of a spaghetti western... Some fans were quick to point out that Django's shades were less than accurate to the time period. Tarantino, being himself, said that he didn't care because it looked cool. Alrighty, then.
The Redcoats in Pirates of the Caribbean
No one would have noticed this little blunder if it wasn't for the history buffs. The British soldiers appeared in the film wearing redcoats, but that specific uniform wasn't put into rotation until the late 1700s. Of course, this movie takes place in the early 1700s, so it wasn't very accurate.
Superman in Man of Steel
Man of Steel was highly awaited as it would be the first Superman movie with modern movie technology. Fans were excited until they noticed one very important thing missing from his uniform... The underwear. The directors decided to toss away the idea of Superman wearing a pair of underpants over his little outfit. Fans weren't impressed.
Daredevil in Daredevil
The directors of the film chose to make the costume entirely out of leather... This was not a great move since it made the costume look cheap and unrealistic. After all, what superhero wants to run around in leather? Needless to say, there were a lot of other oversights in the film that were responsible for its downfall.
Wonder Woman in Wonder Woman
Fans had been waiting for this film for decades. It was about time that Wonder Woman got her own feature film! For the most part, the film was met with applause, but of course, some traditionalists took issue with her costume. It was dark and colorless, which some fans felt took away from the personality of Wonder Woman herself.
The Entire Cast in Inception
Inception is fantastic for so many reasons. The entire plot of the film was thought out and purposefully done, even the costumes of the characters. Of course, with so much going on, a lot of the audience didn't quite catch on to the secret messages that each character's outfit was supposed to portray, so some critics felt that it was an oversight. Of course, if you watch the movie 10 times, you'll start to notice more and more purposeful things.
Princess Leia in Return of the Jedi
The fiercely independent Princess Leia had to put on a golden bikini when she was Jabba the Hutt's prisoner. Many feminists at the time felt that this was demeaning, while others tried to say that it was the point of the entire scene. George Lucas himself later came out to say that it was chosen off of aesthetics...
Green Goblin in Spider-Man
Honestly, the Green Goblin's suit of armor was kind of cool. Of course, there was some pushback since it wasn't part of the comics, but still. The directors went through a lot of trial and error with figuring out the look of the costume. In the end, they felt that the suit of armor was the way to go.
Cinderella in Cinderella
The biggest pushback from his film was Lily James' tiny waist. Many viewers believed that this was from CGI effects after shooting and felt that it was unfair to try and make her so skinny. Then, the filmmakers pushed back and said that there was no CGI, they just made her go on a liquid diet to get that skinny. Uh, that's not great, either.
The Entire Cast in Sucker Punch
A lot of people hated this film, from the poor and unstructured script to the poorer special effects. A lot of critics found the costumes of the women in this film unnecessarily objectified. Director Zack Snyder pushed back against those critics and said that the movie is less about the costumes and more about empowering women. Okay.
The Amazons in Justice League
Like most women's costumes in superhero films, the Amazon women were clad in skimpy combat outfits. The filmmakers defended their decision to place the women in revealing armor because the Amazon women were just "different." Not very subtle.
The Creature in The Shape of Water
This costume had people talking for months. The creature felt so real! Guillermo del Toro claimed that the costume was an homage to Michelangelo's David but in an amphibious form. He did it well!
Nakia in Black Panther
Nakia's costume was influenced by traditional African garb. The red part of her armor stands out the most and is actually a piece of genuine African art. There is a lot of symbolism that went into this piece and the filmmakers wanted it to stand out as much as possible.
Andy Anderson in How To Lose a Guy In 10 Days
Somehow, Andy Anderson makes this silk yellow dress look good. The formal prom dress that was used in the scene at the end of the movie certainly made an impact in the fashion world. It even inspired many fashion lovers to dabble in not-so-popular trends. In the fashion world, this was a controversial dress that stayed in the tabloids for a long time.
Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman
This brown and white polka dot dress was sold in popular women’s clothing stores all over the world and was seemingly unremarkable. That is—until Julia Roberts wore it. All of a sudden, the dress became a world-class garment that was quickly sold out.
Elle Woods in Legally Blonde
Even though this bunny costume was meant to be an embarrassing moment for her, Elle turned this event out. It ended up becoming a powerful tool in speaking out against sexism for women!
Rachel Chu in Crazy Rich Asians
This gown was a jaw-dropper in the film. She looked like a modern-day Cinderella! This dress is now in the Smithsonian National Museum of American history.
Rachel in The Bodyguard
Rachel's entire outfit in this scene was quite the look. People are still talking about it even in 2020! She donned a silver headpiece, fringe skirt, and beautiful beady necklace. She looked like a glam superhero.
Honey Rider in James Bond: Dr. No
Back in the day, bikinis were quite controversial. Honey Rider's bikini is cited as one of the most famous in the world. Of course, the giant knife that she kept strapped to the site was also pretty iconic.
Cher Horowitz in Clueless
The yellow, checkered suit Cher Horowitz wears in Clueless is still used as a Halloween costume today. She's got a checkered suit, knee-high socks, and fabulous shoes. She was only going to school!
Rose DeWitt Bukater in Titanic
This gown won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design, and it's surely worth it! In fact, this gown looked like it was made for Rose to wear. Who doesn't imagine her in this when they think of Titanic?
Kara Danvers in Supergirl
Unlike most superhero movie, the directors of this series decided to keep Supergirl's costume traditional and easy. I was comfortable for the actress to wear and accurate to the lore! The colors and design choices basically stayed the same.
Mia Thermopolis in Princess Diaries
Mia underwent an incredible transformation in the film. Of course, there were naysayers. Critics said that the idea presented in this film forced little girls to try and be more beautiful than they already were.
Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City the Movie
Carrie's large, silk wedding dress stunned viewers. In fact, it was the talk of the fashion industry after the movie was released. As per usual, there were tons of awesome outfits in the film, but this one truly stuck out.
Mia in La La Land
Even though this dress was plain, it still got people talking. After all, this is one of the most memorable and talked about scenes in the entire movie!
Imperator Furiosa in Mad Max Fury World
The costume worn by Charlize Theron won a lot of accolades. The designer even won an Oscar! Though it may seem somewhat impractical for fighting, it looked comfortable enough.
Sandy in Grease
The biker girl look that Sandy rocked is one of a kind and is still talked about! The high-waisted, belted trousers and the off the shoulder top makes a great Halloween costume.
Judge Dredd in Judge Dredd
The 1995 movie adaption of Judge Dredd was the opposite of a Hollywood Blockbuster. For fans of the comic book series, the costumes and lack of sticking to the lore wasthe worst thing about this. In the comic book series, Judge Dredd never takes off his helmet... In the film, the helmet quickly came off.
Padmé Amidala in Attack of the Clones
Padmé had quite the costume controversy in Attack of the Clones. During a battle, she got her clothes ripped up which exposed a lot of skin. A lot of people felt that it was sexualizing her.
Loana in One Million Years B.C.
This cult classic filmh. ics mostly remembered by the revealing costume worn by Raquel Welch. She was wearing a fur bikini that really got people talking. She was a cavewoman, after all.
Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Before Ryan Reynolds rendition of Deadpool, there was another verison in X-Men Origins. He wasn't wearing his suit and couldn't speak at all, which directors admitted was a big mistake. Still, the design was interesting enough to get fans talking... Even if they were disappointed.
Claire in Jurassic World
Bryce Dallas Howard wore heels throughout the entire movie... even as she ran away from killer dinosaurs. Howard and the filmmakers claimed that this was a concious choice because her character would have done the same in reality. A lot of fans claimed that it just felt off.
Martha in Jumanji
The 2017 sequel to Jumanji, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, really popped off. A lot of people had things to say about the costume worn by Martha... She didn't have many clothes on! In the end, the costume choice actually ended up becoming a statement about women in video games and how they are oversexualized.