Ruth Carter’s Costume Designs Bring ‘Coming 2 America’ and ‘Black Panther’ to Life

The legendary costume designer talks power, beauty, and film

Published in

ZORA

5 min readMar 5, 2021

When it comes to representing how Black people dress on the big screen, Ruth E. Carter is unparalleled. Her gift and passion for the craft makes her among the best costume designers to ever do it. Thanks to her hard work, talent, and diligence, we show up — even in our clothing—whether it be the past or the present.

“Ruth Carter is a genius,” comedy icon Eddie Murphy proclaimed via video during the ceremony of the legendary costume designer receiving her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Thursday, February 25. The two legends go way back and, to date, have worked on seven films together, including their current Coming 2 America streaming on Amazon Prime and 2019’s highly acclaimed Dolemite Is My Name.

“. . . I’ve never had a wardrobe designer [like Carter] whose clothes actually influence how you play your character — how you walk, how you stand. She really is instrumental in bringing your characters to life,” Murphy continued.

Oprah Winfrey, who worked with the Massachusetts native on Lee Daniels’ The Butler and the Ava DuVernay-directed Selma added that “Ruth holds within her an awareness of cultural knowledge of our history and is able to beautifully weave the two together to create fully formed characters before they even speak a word.”

Carter’s brilliance on the Ryan Coogler-directed superhero blockbuster Black Panther dazzled the world, earning her the Oscar in 2019, making her the first Black costume designer to win the Oscar. Prior to her Oscar win, Carter had been nominated twice before for the Steven Spielberg-directed Amistad and the Spike Lee-directed Malcolm X. Lee actually recruited her into the industry. Before meeting him, Carter, armed with a degree in theater arts from Hampton University, initially worked in theater. His 1988 film School Daze was her first credit as a costume designer.