PIXAR’S FASHION MODE

Meet the female squad styling Edna Mode and the ‘Incredibles’ family.

From her oversize glasses to sharply bobbed haircut, her style is hard to forget. Her fashion edicts are equally memorable:

“No capes!”

“This is a hobo suit, darling. You can’t be seen in this.”

“Supermodels. Heh! Nothing super about them ... Spoiled, stupid little stick figures with poofy lips who think only about themselves.”

As Pixar designers Bryn Imagire, Fran Kalal and Deanna Marsiglieseworked on creating the computeranimated costumes that bring the superhero world of the just-released “The Incredibles 2” to life, they say it was the voice of fashion designer Edna Mode that served as their muse.

“Edna says what she’s all about in the first film: Boldness, drama but ultimately heroic,” says Marsigliese at Pixar’s Emeryville campus. “Anything I designed had to have that punch and sleekness and the surrealness in the design that someone like (Italian fashion designer Elsa) Schiaparelli might have used. But also, something that makes you think, something with a motivation.”

“She’s our favorite,” says Imagire of Edna. “To be able to have that high design-mind as a designer is a perfect project. Those opportunities don’t come around very often.”

Like “The Devil Wears Prada’s’ Miranda Priestly, Mode is one of the most famous fictional fashion characters in the movies. The pint-size couturier to superheroes, with her witticisms and unplaceable accent voiced by “Incredibles” director Brad Bird, was one of the breakout creations from the original “Incredibles” in 2004. But behind Edna’s bangs are three real-life women bringing the film’s midcentury-inspired fashion back to the screen. The trio designs everything from the title family’s superhero spandex to the gray flannel suits of the background characters.

For the uninitiated, here’s how jobs in the world of animation break down.

“As shade art director, I’m designing the textures and colors of characters, props, sets, even effects,” says Imagire, 55, a 20-year Pixar veteran who lives in Oakland.

“I work with Deanna, Fran, (production designer) Ralph Eggleston and Brad (Bird) and collaborate on getting an entire look for a film. As costume designer, I created the looks for Edna, Helen, the family, and Evelyn Deavor.”

Kalal, 35, who also lives in Oakland, serves as the character tailoring lead. “It’s my job to lead a team of people that takes what we know about art and fashion to build the costumes on the computer, and then takes what we know about math and science to get

Pixar artists Deanna Marsigliese (left) and Fran Kalal flank ‘Incredibles 2’ character Edna Mode. Above: Marsigliese’ character illustrations.

Disney / Pixar The ‘Incredibles 2’ family, above. Below left: Deanna Marsigliese’s illustrations, and illustrations of new character Evelyn Deavor.