Family’s costumes mirror the movie’s
In Little Rock as well as other cities, excited Black Panther moviegoers got with friends and family, donned African attire and costumes that echoed those shown in the movie, and watched the film, in some cases, multiple times, during its opening weekend.
Chauncey Pettis and her family were among those inspired to fashion costumes for their movie outing. The family headed to the Rave Cinemas Colonel Glenn, with Pettis outfitted as Shuri, T’Challa’s sister and also a superhero; husband Anthony Pettis as the movie’s villain, Erik Killmonger; sister Breshawna McCoy as Okoye, the leader of the Dora Milaje; sister Ashanti McCoy as Nakia, the Wakandan spy and romantic interest to T’Challa; and mother Subrena McCoy as Ramonda.
The family is into costumes and cosplay. They also donned costumes in celebration of the Hunger Games, Harry Potter and Star Trek movies, HBO’s Game of Thrones and various DC Comics shows on TV’s The CW.
“But none of them meant quite as much or took as much time as Black Panther,” says Chauncey Pettis, a former member of the costume crew at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre. “We knew we had to ‘do it for the culture.’ I was extremely moved by the inspiration pulled from real African tribes to represent the five tribes that constitute the fictional African nation of Wakanda. I loved the Pan-Africanism vibes that Black Panther represented, from the lip plates and neck rings to the American urban wear. … There were too many cultures to count and it felt wonderful to see them all in such beauty and strength.”
Pettis also liked the color symbolism the characters’ attire represented. “Three of the main characters — T’Challa, Nakia, and Okoye — were only in black, green and red, which created this constant African flag vibe in most of their scenes together. It was apparent that a lot of man hours went into the costumes of this movie.”
Pettis’ costume consisted of a black bodysuit accented with fur and accessorized with matching pointed-toe boots, gloves and head wrap. Anthony Pettis wore fatigue trousers, combat boots, black leather vest and royal-blue pullover. Breshawna McCoy looked ready for battle in an orange-red and brown ensemble accented with studded trim. Ashanti McCoy was outfitted in a sleek, sagegreen leather dress and green boots, while Subrena McCoy was majestic in a flowing black dress, shrug, African statement necklace and tall hat.
In making the costumes, Subrena McCoy took the lead, Chauncey Pettis explains. “We rely heavily on her vision of what something could be; ‘this dress if painted green,’ ‘this vest if straps can be added.’ … Breshawna is great at headpieces. She made Mom’s crown out of foam sheets and a knee pad. Because of my time with costumes I get sewing machine duty. Attaching Velcro, straps, beads, panels of fabric is usually my job. I was most proud of my Mom’s dress and my cape, which were entirely new creations.” It took a week to make all five costumes.
“We got a wonderful reaction and were really well received,” Pettis says. “But we always are.”