Costumes that are difficult to wear are legion in the cinema, but that of Catwoman in Tim Burton’s Batman Returns (1992) is perhaps one of the worst because, in addition to being uncomfortable, it was downright dangerous to wear…
To create the tight black catsuit that Michelle Pfeiffer wears in the film, costume designers Mary Vogt and Bob Ringwood made a plaster cast of her entire body which was then used to create the latex costume.
The goal was to have a suit so close to the body that it would feel like a second skin.
Fearing that such a thin latex costume would be too fragile, the costume designers made around forty copies, to have a replacement in case of tearing. However, they will ultimately only use one copy because the latex will prove very durable.
For Michelle Pfeiffer, however, using this costume will be a real nightmare.
“It’s the most horrible costume I’ve ever seen… the actress confided years later. Before putting it on, I had to get naked and they covered my body with talcum powder. Then, several people helped me get into the suit. It was long and laborious. The latex stuck to the skin. Once the costume was put on, we had to make sure that there were not the slightest air bubbles or the slightest wrinkle. We then used a sort of vacuum cleaner to create a vacuum between my skin and the costume. I literally found myself vacuum-packed like a piece of meat! And they also did that with the mask I wore on my head. It pulled on my face so hard that I had trouble breathing…”
In fact, Michelle Pfeiffer could not wear this costume for too long because she risked suffocation and loss of consciousness. Which almost happened to him several times…
As soon as the costume was put on, the body was then coated with liquid silicone, so that the suit had this shiny appearance. When she was ready, we rushed to get her scenes shot. And at the first sign of breathing difficulties, we opened her costume so she could breathe…