Alexandra Byrne Told Us What It Was Like to Make Costumes for Marvel's Biggest Movies

If we're being honest, we all wish we could dress like superheroes—and not just for Halloween. If you could embody the style of Thor or Iron Man or Star-Lord in your daily life, the world would be a more exciting place. Costume designer Alexandra Byrne is responsible for much of the iconic Marvel onscreen fashion, including last summer's Guardians of the Galaxy. The London-based designer is nominated for Excellence in Fantasy Film at the Costume Designers Guild Awards this month for her work on the movie, and has the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron in the can. We asked Byrne, who is working on Doctor Strange next, to help us break down how a man can draw everyday inspiration from Marvel superheroes. 

Get The Physique

"Go to the gym," Byrne says. "That's the bottom line of it. These actors put in so much hard work for their training and that's a large part of how they look." The costume designer, in fact, has to take the actor's growing physiques into account when building the costumes since measurements are taken far ahead of filming. "Chris Hemsworth is incredible shape and becomes almost super human when he's Thor," she says. "At this point I know where he's going to go. But a lot of the design is chasing their body as they bulk. And it depends on the character—for Thor it's all about his arms." 

Find The Right Coat

Star-Lord's red jacket in Guardians of the Galaxy would easily translate to modern style, although Byrne notes that the costume may look like leather, but it's actually heavily treated cotton. If you want something similar, Byrne recommends hunting around vintage shops. "You wouldn't have it made," she says. "It has to be something you put on that just fits. Guardians had a very retro, pulpy feel. It would be finding a brilliant, '80s jacket that just said the right thing to you." More into villains than heroes? You can score the long coat Loki wears when he visits Earth in Thor from Margiela(his more flamboyant look from The Avengers might be harder to ape). 

Be Casual

Out of all the Avengers, Byrne prefers Bruce Banner's everyday, non-Hulked style. In The Avengers, the character dons a low-key purple button-down and brown pants in a few key scenes, which is easy to replicate. And if you're looking for Tony Stark's casual wear you can score his long-sleeved Black Sabbath tee from The Avengers at any number of  online retailers. 

Don't Focus On Designers

When it comes to dressing billionaire Tony Stark, Byrne doesn't have a go-to designer. Instead, she brings in unexpected and eclectic pieces that match his personality. "He's one of the richest, most successful, most confident men in the world," she says. "Sometimes I go flamboyant, sometimes practical. I get his clothes and his shoes from anywhere and everywhere. I do a lot of research online. I want things that are little bit unusual—there's no specific designer I look at. None of these characters definitively wear a certain label. Put something together that isn't cliché and is individual to you. You also need to balance the whole silhouette so it works as a whole."

Use The Internet

For Guardians of the Galaxy, Byrne and her team spent a lot of time scouring the Internet for accessories, especially shoes. She made many of the belts you see in the film, but didn't have time to create every piece for all the background actors. "The Internet is great for sourcing things you can't find on the street because the design is too extreme," Byrne said. "We looked at absolutely everything—you find yourself up some quite interesting blind alleys on the Internet. The shoes for the prisoners in the film are from a company in China who makes boots and we adapted their design. You can't be afraid to find something you think will work for you and then adapt it."

Embrace the Swagger

You can't just put on these clothes and expect to look like these characters. For Byrne, half the battle is matching the costumes to the confidence embodied by the actors. "Star-Lord was all about the swagger, but without vanity," she says. "So how does that translate into our world? If you were asking me to dress somebody and style them like him, it would have to be specific to that person. With it's all these characters it's about the person and what they bring. Think about what is your personal swagger and your style and don't let it get all bundled up into vanity. Be an individual."