Costume designer Jany Temime says working on Marvel’s “Black Widow” was a dream job. She doesn’t know the exact number of costumes she created, but it was “a lot.”

The costume designer who counts “Judy,” “Skyfall” and six of the Harry Potter films including “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I and II” among her credits, turned to the Russian and Norwegian armies and the circus for “Black Widow” for design inspirations as new characters such as Yelena (Florence Pugh) and the Red Guardian (David Harbour) are introduced.

Temime also inherited Scarlett Johansson in the title role, whose costume that had already been established. This time around, she made a few tweaks to allow for comfort, sculpting it to suit a woman’s body.

Here, she breaks down designing those looks.

On Inheriting the Black Widow Outfit and the Marvel Comic Universe

 

 

With the Black Widow costume, I changed a few things and adapted it to Scarlett and her body. When you get the design, you have a computer reality and you have the reality of a woman’s body, and you have to put those two things together.

To make it comfortable, we had the base of the costume made from rubbery fabric. I also added in a design graphic to stop it from looking flat, and that was printed out.

Between the seams, we allowed two to three millimeters of elastic fabric to give some room and stretch because I didn’t want her to feel like she was in something tight. I was so happy to hear Scarlett say that it was the most comfortable outfit.

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The way we cut it too was glamorous, we cut the waist a little higher because you have to model the suit to the body to flatter it.

I also designed the young widow outfits which they gave me carte blanche with, and again, they were enthusiastic about it. It was such a collaboration and so dreamy. I also understood what [director] Cate Shortland wanted and her vision, especially for that opening sequence.

Introducing Yelena and the White Suits

Since Yelena came from Russia, I looked at it from a different point of view. I looked at photos of the Russian and Norwegian army and I came across some of the soldiers in the snow wearing white, and that’s where the white uniform idea came from – also they pick up their “father” in the show so I thought that would look gorgeous.

I wanted her outfit to be more functional and more army-like. I used double fabric with cotton and nylon stitched together gave it volume which had this sportswear look to it. Her look was less of a superhero than just a normal one.

We also had to introduce the green vest. She says in the film she bought this vest with all those pockets, and the idea was that she had come out of that brainwashed spy world, and buys that. So, I made something easy to wear, sturdy, practical and based on post-‘50s sportswear fashion.

When you look at the women in their different suits, I hope you can feel and see the difference between Russia and the USA.

Scarlett’s white suit was made from similar fabrics used on scuba diving suits – that’s what gave it a rubbery look.

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And again, I printed other aspects of the costume to make it interesting and to create that lift so it didn’t look flat and boring, and just to cut that monotony of plain rubber-coated fabric.

The Red Guardian

I wanted to design something that reflected what the Soviet Union thought America was. So, there was this superhero design with this primary color of red, that helmet that looks terrible with that piece under the chin, and it was so old fashioned, almost like an old-fashioned comic.

That helmet was inspired by those guys who are shot out of cannons at the circus.

David was amazing. I created it for him and on him. He is the sort of actor who could feel the part from the inside out. He didn’t mind being slightly ridiculous as long as you get the effect, especially in that sequence where he is trying on the costume for the first time and it’s so tight.

Asho Tobi

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Serena Williams arrived at Roland Garros with a zebra-striped outfit, but Rafael Nadal’s “ugly” shirt also got a lot of people talking.

After wearing a black catsuit at the 2018 French Open that got the tongues wagging so much so that the French tennis bosses all but banned catsuits, Williams opted for something different this year.

Here it is if you haven’t seen it yet.

Some people liked it.

Some didn’t like it.

Asho Tobi

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The mother of World No. 1 Novak Djokovic says watching her son at the Wimbledon singles final last year was the most difficult time she has had while watching her son play in his career. Djokovic came back from match points down to defeat Roger Federer in a classic five setter to win the Wimbledon title in July even as the whole stadium seemed to cheer for the Swiss legend.

Dijana was speaking in an interview with the Serbian portal “Blic Sport” on the program, “Mothers of Champions” “I saw a lot of his matches, but Wimbledon was the most difficult last year. In a stadium where everyone was cheering on Roger Federer, we were just a handful of fans for Novak.

When Federer had two match points, I reached for my cross from the Don river. I am a believer, I wear the amulet all the time, it often saved me in difficult moments. I said to myself, ‘Nole, you can do it, you’ve done it twice, you can do it again.’

He did it. He was saved by God. Novak also believes in God, he feels chosen. He carries a cross that brings him peace and happiness. It is from the Greek monastery Hilandar. He says his prayers morning and evening,” The mother of the 17-time Grand Slam champion also recalled another painful defeat – at the Rio Olympics in 2016, where he lost to World No.

1 Juan Martin del Potro in the first round. “The defeat at the Olympics in Rio still breaks my heart. Novak is a happy child and has no problem crying. But the tears at that time were the biggest I have ever seen with him.

He had all the prerequisites to win gold. The wish was not granted to him. He had this elbow problem and couldn’t stand the pressure. He felt that he had disappointed the people in Serbia. We were both very emotional. Maybe he got that from me – sometimes I curse quite a lot.”

Dijana also gave some insight about some of the early health problems that Novak suffered during his career. “At the beginning of his career, Novak had many health problems. Because he had to give up a few matches, he was often attacked by the public or by tennis experts.

He had a curvature of the nose wall, it was difficult for him to breathe. After an operation, things went better. In 2010 he was found to be intolerant to gluten. It made life difficult for him. He had to give up in Australia because of the heat.

Then his bleeding toe in Paris in 2007: after playing for five consecutive days, he gave up the semi-final against Nadal. Then everyone accused him, including John McEnroe! I had bandaged his foot the night before the duel. In the morning he could barely walk in slippers.

I advised him not to go to the court, he absolutely wanted to get an injection. Then he beat Nadal 6-2 in the first set. Novak took a medical timeout between sets to bandage the wounds. When Nadal saw the blood, he knew what was going on and then chased him into every corner until Novak had to give up.”

Asho Tobi

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