Character Building Through Costume Design | Loki Edition
At this point in the MCU, Loki has become one of the most developed characters we have encountered throughout every piece of media Marvel has produced. With 328 minutes of screen time thanks to the new series Loki, Tom Hiddleston’s character now boasts the second most screen time for a Marvel character in 2023 right behind Iron Man at 356 minutes. With the Loki series having come to its conclusion, I wanted to take a second to look at the evolution of Loki's costume.
When we were first introduced to Loki back in the 2011 Thor film, his character was very pompous and boastful as he would always say that he was "burdened with glorious purpose". Loki was a selfish, attention seeking, drama queen constantly looking for approval and attention from those around him. And his costume at this point reflected just that.
Loki's costume was extremely flashy with lots of gold detailing, leathers, and velvets. His costume gave the look of a royal prince or leader especially when paired with the golden helmet/horns. As a cosplayer, his costume is a logistical nightmare to figure out and looks extremely hot and heavy. But with someone as big of an ego as Loki, comfort isn't really on his mind.
Now let's look at 2023 Loki in his latest appearance in the series finale of Loki Season 2. At this point in his character development, he begins to realize that that being a true god is not a pretty thing. When Loki aproaches Mobius with a question regarding how does one go about making hard decisions, his response is what leads Loki to his final decision. Mobius says “Most purpose is more burden than glory, trust me you never want to be the guy who avoids it because you can't live with the burden.” This is the moment where we see Loki go from selfishness to selflessness and chooses the ultimate sacrifice to ensure his friends can live out their lives untouched.
As he enters the loom, his clothing is stripped away to reveal his new costume, almost as if his older self is shattering leaving behind remnants as his new purpose is revealed.
There is very little gold to be seen on this new costume with no adornments or accessories. The only remaining accessory being his iconic helmet with horns that are now made from obsidian which symbolize power, protection, and grounding. The use gold accents throughout the cloak helps to keep the new costume familiar yet new along with the green coloring of the fabric. The light weight flow of the fabric along with the curves of the pleating of the costume resembles the flow of time which has become his new role as the God of Stories.
His new costume is simple and light weight. No armor as the costume is all about comfort which is easily sensed by the fact Loki is wearing loafers. He is no longer here to show off, no point has to be proven, and no emotional mask has to be worn to keep an image around others. His new costume is regal while being humble. Fantastic job to Christine Wada! That is how costume design is done!