Chloe Bennet and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. costume designer Ann Foley describe the process of creating Daisy Johnson’s heroic new costume.
Along with Bennet’s chicly choppy locks, her new tactical suit helps complete the transformation from hacker Skye to the agent/Inhuman Daisy Johnson. For Foley, the significance of the change had to be embodied in the costume.
“One of the most important things was that the [Quake] symbol be incorporated into her costume — but especially onto the gauntlets,” the costume designer tells Marvel. “It’s also on the back of her suit, which was a fun little touch that we added.”
As has been the case with the other comic-to-television adaptations she has tackled, Foley says that “We wanted to stay true to the comics and pay tribute to those original designs.” To that end, the sleek silhouette of Quake’s suit was preserved, and touches of gold were added in tribute to some illustrated incarnation of the earthquake-generating Inhuman.
And for fans concerned that all traces of Skye have disappeared, Foley has you covered. don’t need to worry that all traces of Skye have disappeared –
“For me personally, I wanted a nod to her tactical look from last season,” she says. “If you look at the style lines around the top of the costume, you will see that they’re similar to her tactical hood from season 2.”
Meanwhile, Bennet tells the Los Angeles Times that she was excited to move on to the next stage of her character’s transformation on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
“It was really, really fun to put it on,” she says. “With the inner geek in me — and growing up with six brothers — I was never really interested in being the princess. I was more into being someone who kicked … and was a superhero. So, that was a dream come true.”
And though Foley was careful to craft the suit out of stretchy material, Bennet admits that her new, noticeably slimmer threads can be hard to move in.
“When you put this on in real life, it’s not that practical,” she says. “I always wondered why superheroes wear such tight outfits, cause they’re really tight and really limiting.”
But as Bennet notes, the tight suit certainly works onscreen — as do Daisy’s impressive new gauntlets, which help her to focus her earth-shattering power.
“It’s only something that Daisy would have,” Bennet notes. “[It’s] specific to her earthquake powers,” and “a practical part” of her new outfit.
From top to bottom, Foley is pleased with the final results in her part of bringing Daisy Johnson to life — and how it effects Bennet.
“It’s about strength,” the designer tells the Times. “[Chloe] feels very empowered in it. That’s what was important to me, that she felt empowered.”
The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 3 premiere airs on Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 9:00 p.m. on ABC.