Catsuits and bodysuits in popular media

Woman in a black latex catsuit

Catsuits are a recurring costume for fictional characters in various media, as well as for entertainers, especially for use in musical performances. They are sometimes referred to as "bodysuits", especially in reference to a full-body suit worn by a man (although bodysuit usually refers to a legless garment); catsuit is typically used only in reference to women.

The catsuit has been identified as a film-maker's costume of choice for stealth. In films like Irma Vep, Les Vampires and Heroic Trio, crime and catsuits are featured together, as well as its major original use in Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief.

A trend of bodysuits was observed by film reviewer Alan Farrell in his book High Cheekbones, Pouty Lips, Tight Jeans, and a number or occurrences of the garb in films were mentioned - Charlize Theron in Aeon Flux, Milla Jovovich in Resident Evil, Jennifer Garner in Elektra, Halle Berry in Catwoman, Carrie-Anne Moss in The Matrix, Angelina Jolie in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Kate Beckinsale in Van Helsing, and Underworld, and Raquel Welch in Fantastic Voyage. The trend of leather and vinyl catsuits were identified as an attempt to redefine the gender role of women through films. Theresa L. Geller described the catsuit as a part of the Hollywood tough chic paradigm in an article published in the journal Frontiers. That view was shared by Sherrie A. Inness in her book Action Chicks, which also included computer games and professional wrestling in that paradigm. The Action Heroine's Handbook describes the catsuit as one of the three options of the first rule of thumb described in the book: "Dress to accentuate your best physical assets". Action Chicks: New Images of Tough Women in Popular Culture by Sherrie A. Inness describes catsuits as an iconic garb of female TV and film characters.

Movies and television series

Notable uses of catsuits or similar full-body garments include:

• Æon Flux: In both the television series and the 2005 film starring Charlize Theron.
• Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery: Liz Hurley and Mimi Rogers appear in black leather catsuits in a tribute to Emma Peel.
• The Avengers: Cathy Gale (played by Honor Blackman, better known for the role of Pussy Galore in Goldfinger) wore black leather catsuits that took four-hour fitting sessions for the shooting. She opted for the leather as her clothes were getting repeatedly ripped off during fight scenes, including one scene that had her trousers ripped in close-up. Her fetishistic garb was identified as a reason behind The Avengers's entry into a cult status. Emma Peel (played by Diana Rigg) wore a number of black leather catsuits during the monochrome series, but then switched to wearing colorful psychedelic jumpsuits as the show entered Technicolor. Emma Peel's black leather catsuits was identified as a precursor of the popularity of leather, spandex and vinyl bodysuits in subcultures like Punk and Leathermen. Her character has been described as the inspiration for most iconic bodysuit-clad female characters that followed, including the Catwoman, Monica Vitti in Modesty Blaise, Jane Fonda in Barbarella, and Marianne Faithful in Girl on a Motorcycle. The catsuits and fashion paraphernalia in The Avengers, including the leather boots, kept the youth "at home on Saturday nights" according to the Spectator. Novelist and social analyst Gillian Freeman attributed this popularity to the "kinkiness" of the attire of Gale and Peel in The Undergrowth of Literature, her seminal study on pornography.
  • The Avengers: In the 1998 film based on the series, Uma Thurman wears a black pleather catsuit and a black PVC/latex catsuit as Emma Peel and her evil clone respectively.
• Batman: Batgirl has appeared in various forms of the catsuit throughout the Batman film, TV and comic book franchises. Catwoman has worn a variety of lurex, PVC, leather and spandex catsuits in the TV series, film and comic book franchises. The villainess Harley Quinn is renowned for her distinctive costume - a red and black diamond-checked catsuit in the style of a harlequin jester.
  • Batman (1966 film): Lee Meriwether as Catwoman, wears a black tight shiny catsuit.
  • Batman Forever: Jim Carrey wears a number of flamboyant green spandex catsuits for his role as The Riddler.
  • Batman Returns: Michelle Pfeiffer (Catwoman) wears the catsuit, and European fetish magazine «O» claims that the popularity of her costume has taken forward the social approval of fetish costumes, a claim partially acknowledged by scholarly sources.
  • Batman & Robin: Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman) wears two flamboyant spandex catsuits.
• Cat's Eye: The criminal trio of sisters Rui, Hitomi and Ai wear spandex catsuits throughout the anime film. In the live action version the catsuits are worn by Miss Japan 1992 Norika Fujiwara (Rui), Izumi Inamori (Hitomi) and teen icon Yuki Uchida (Ai).
• Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Wilma Deering (played by Erin Gray) wore disco-inspired spandex catsuits during the show's first season.
• The Cannonball Run: Jill Rivers (Tara Buckman) and Marcie Thatcher (Adrienne Barbeau) drives a black Lamborghini Countach dressed in tight shiny one-piece race suits.
• Charlie's Angels: Cameron Diaz appears in a white spandex catsuit, Lucy Liu and Drew Barrymore appear in black catsuits (during the Alley fight scene) and the villainess Vivian Wood (Kelly Lynch) appears in a sleeveless black latex catsuit and leather jacket. The Angels also wear blue catsuits when on the race track.
• Chuck: Yvonne Strahovski wears a black catsuit in one episode
• Colombiana: Zoë Saldana changes into a black catsuit in order to perform an assassination requiring stealth and flexibility that would not be possible in regular clothing.
• Doctor Who: Travelling companion Zoe Heriot wears a sparkling catsuit, apparently common in the "21st century".
• Dude, Where's My Car?: A group of five attractive females wearing catsuits appear a number of times throughout the movie.
• Ergo Proxy: Female protagonist Re-l Mayer has on some occasions worn a suit that resembles a catsuit. However, its main use is to protect the wearer from the harsh cold temperatures outside of the dome city Rondo.
• Fantastic Four: The heroes Mr. Fantastic, The Invisible Woman and The Human Torch all wear dark lycra catsuits.
• Galaxina: Dorothy Stratten wears white spandex catsuit during the whole film.
• Game of Death: Bruce Lee's yellow one-piece tracksuit has become an icon of modern action movies.
• The Girl on a Motorcycle: the female protagonist (Marianne Faithfull) rides a motorcycle through Europe wearing only a leather catsuit.
• The Hazing: Tiffany Shepis appears in silver spandex catsuit with matching spandex hands.
• Irma Vep: Irma Vep (played by Maggie Cheung) spends most of the film dressed in a tight black latex catsuit, jumping from one Parisian rooftop to another and defending her director's odd choices to hostile crew members and journalists. In the TV series Les Vampires, the inspiration of Irma Vep, Musidora wears the same costume and make-up as Cheung. This particular look was also repeated in Mark of the Vampire for Carroll Borland's characterization of vampiress Phoebe Duprey. Irma Vep was included in the X-list (National Society of Film Critics' movies that turn us on) for the catsuit worn by Cheung. In the film the costume is devised by bisexual costume designer Zoe (played by Natalie Richard), enamored by Irma in the costume, as a vague reminiscent Michelle Pfeiffer costume in Batman Returns.
• Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back: The criminal quartet forming the C.L.I.T. syndicate (Eliza Dushku, Shannon Elizabeth, Ali Larter and Jennifer Schwalbach Smith) wears black latex catsuits.
• Justify: Rebecca Larsen wears black latex catsuit several times throughout the movie.
• Kappa Mikey: Mitsuki wears a black catsuit with yellow details as her spy outfit on the episode Le Femme Mitsuki.
• Kill Bill Volume 1: Beatrix Kiddo (Uma Thurman) wears a yellow leather catsuit-like two-piece suit with black stripes in a tribute to Bruce Lee's iconic tracksuit in Game of Death.
• Kim Possible: The character Shego wears a green and black catsuit as her trademark outfit.
• La Louve Solitaire: A female burglar wears a black catsuit with the zipper on the back.
• Lajja: Bollywood actress and dancer Urmila Matondkar appears in a gold pleather catsuit in the opening item number "Aa Hi Jaiye".
• Last Action Hero: Most of the ladies around the video rental wear latex suits.
• The Matrix trilogy: Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) wears a black PVC catsuit. Her androgynous appeal in the film was carefully designed in PVC catsuits, at times by trench coats, generating enormous following, especially among cybergeeks. The role and costume launched her into stardom. Trinity's shift from the maiden with longer hair and softer garbs to the black vinyl catsuit has been commented on as a statement in gender identity. Kym Barrett, the costume designer, made 15 versions of the catsuit, all designed to look the same on screen. She was nominated by the Costume Designers Guild in 2001 as the Best Costume Designer for her designs for Matrix characters. While discussing the Matrix she said that she "wanted to go just from the script--to come up with clothes that weren't connected to a certain time or place".
• Mean Girls: Gretchen Wieners (Lacey Chabert) appears in a black catsuit.
• Mr. Magoo: Kelly Lynch appears early on in the film as a jewel thief in a black latex catsuit.
• The Mighty Boosh: Vince Noir (Noel Fielding) inventor of the mirror ball suit.
• Never Been Kissed: Leelee Sobieski appears in blue spandex catsuit.
• Rent: Maureen (Idina Menzel) in black catsuit with matching cat ears.
• Rubbers: Oou onna: Aino Kishi wears black latex catsuit expressing her fetish on rubber.
• Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed: Velma Dinkley (Linda Cardellini) appears in a red latex catsuit in an attempt to impress her love interest, Patrick Wisely (Seth Green).
• Star Trek: Catsuits and bodysuits were worn by many extraterrestrial species and characters, of which the most notable is the Borg bodysuit.
  • Star Trek: The Next Generation: Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) wore catsuits for nearly all of season one through six.
  • Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) wears a catsuit (tightness increasing throughout the episodes) as her uniform, distinguishing her rather attractively from the surrounding Starfleet-"Pyjamas".
  • Star Trek: Voyager: Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and Kes (Jennifer Lien) wore several catsuits throughout the show, some of Seven of Nine's even contained built in corsets.
  • Star Trek: Enterprise: Continuing the Star Trek tradition from previous series, T'Pol (Jolene Blalock) wore a catsuit.
• Tomb Raider series:
  • Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life: Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft appears in a thermal silver spandex catsuit.
• Totally Spies!: Clover, Alex and Sam wear red, yellow and green catsuits respectively as their spy outfits.
• Underworld: Selene (Kate Beckinsale) wears a black lycra/vinyl catsuit with matching leather corset.
• X-Men: All members of the X-Men team (male and female) wear black leather catsuits as their official uniform.

Music videos

Ola Salo of The Ark in a leopard-print catsuit

Notable uses of catsuits or similar full-body garments include:

• Groove Is in the Heart - Lady Miss Kier wears a spandex catsuit in some of it.
• Confide in Me - Kylie Minogue wears a black shiny lycra catsuit.
• Forever Young - Marian Gold wears a red jumpsuit.
• Human Nature - Madonna wears a black PVC catsuit. She recorded the song to lash out at the outcry over her book Sex, and to stretch the point wears a catsuit along with ropes and chains in the video.
• Independent Women Part I - Michelle Williams wears a copper red pleather catsuit.
• It's a Fine Day - Opus III's Kirsty Hawkshaw wears a black catsuit.
• It's Your Duty - Lene Nystrøm wears a red glossy Teddy.
• I Believe in a Thing Called Love - The Darkness's Justin Hawkins wears a catsuit.
• I Want Candy - Mel C (alias Sporty Spice) wears a black pleather catsuit.
• Just a Little - Liberty X's Kelli Young and Jessica Taylor wear black latex catsuits.
• Let the Beat Control Your Body - 2 Unlimited: one dancer wears a shiny lycra catsuit, two dancers a black PVC coated catsuit.
• My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It) - En Vogue: A male dancer wears a metallic lycra full suit with hood.
• More Than a Woman - Aaliyah wears a white leather catsuit.
• Move That Body - Technotronic: The lead singer wears a silver metallic lycra catsuit.
• Oops!... I Did It Again - Britney Spears wears a red latex catsuit. The catsuit presented with a number of problems during shooting of the video. It trapped so much heat that sweat flew off her sleeves every time she flicked a hand or twirled. The suit flattened her breasts and extra padding had to be added, which kept slipping off.
• Rhythm is a Dancer - Snap!: Singer Thea Austin wears a black latex catsuit while dancing on an elevated platform.
• Say You'll Be There - Victoria Beckham (alias Posh Spice) wears a sleeveless black PVC catsuit.
• There You Go - Pink wears a white leather catsuit.
• Too Much - Victoria Beckham (alias Posh Spice) wears a black PVC catsuit with a feline headdress.
• Toxic - Britney Spears wears a black pleather catsuit.
• Who Do You Think You Are - Victoria Beckham (alias Posh Spice) wears a silver lurex catsuit.
• Heart-Shaped Glasses (When the Heart Guides the Hand) - Marilyn Manson appears in a black leather catsuit.
• Sexy! No No No... - All members of Girls Aloud (Cheryl Cole, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh) wearing black latex catsuits.
• I Do - 3LW's Kiely Williams wearing a black leather catsuit.
• Cry For You - September (alias Petra Marklund) wears a black latex catsuit in the video for the UK version.
• Feedback - Janet Jackson wears a black catsuit with knee pads and matching boots jumping from planet to planet in a space/futureistic themed Music Video
• Poker Face (Lady Gaga)- Lady Gaga wears a black latex catsuit.
• "On The Floor"- Jennifer Lopez wears a nude catsuit with sliver gems.

Video and computer games

Notable uses of catsuits or similar full-body garments include:

• Dead or Alive—British assassin Christie wears a black and white catsuit as her primary outfit in DOA 3, and as her second costume option in DOA 4.
• Death By Degrees—assassin and action heroine Nina Williams wears a purple leather catsuit and a black and white leather catsuit during gameplay.
• Soul Calibur series—female ninja Taki wears a red catsuit with body armor.
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl—Zero Suit Samus wears a blue catsuit.
• Tekken series—assassin and martial artist Nina Williams has worn a variety of catsuits throughout the series, including a green, brown and black military camouflage catsuit, purple military camouflage catsuits, and a shocking pink catsuit.
• Tomb Raider series—adventurer and action heroine Lara Croft has appeared in several catsuits, including a black leather catsuit and thermal spandex catsuits.
• Mass Effect 2 — Cerebus agent and possible romance option Miranda Lawson wears a white leather catsuit throughout most of the game and, after her loyalty mission, has a second black catsuit outfit option.
• Bayonetta: The titular protagonist Bayonetta wears a catsuit that is composed of her own hair as a medium. The suit is occasionally removed when she is summoning demons to kill powerful angels.

Post-modern thesis

In a post-modern thesis on the superhero genre Michael Lecker wrote, "In the superhero genre, clothes do the talking through semiotics, which [Roland] Barthes discusses in depth in his work: The 'first, literal message serves as a support for a second meaning, of a generally affective or ideological order' (Roland Barthes). The cat suits that adorn the feline hybrid characters in this genre are firstly illustrating their connection to felines. On the ideological level, the costumes signify the attributes that our society has projected onto cats and that the characters embody." In another post-modern thesis on sadomasochism in cinema Andrea Beckmann wrote, "Cinematic SM is twisted into the non-consenting, violent realm of the unhinged that we know it is not. Fetishism is used as an excuse for a bit of titillatory semi-nudity, or to identify the villain – the man in black leather. Horror films, in particular, will happily throw in a leather catsuit or a gratuitous bondage scene to spice up a mediocre script (M Olley, Pam Hogg: Warrior queen of the catwalk)."

Further reading

• Meredith Levande, "Women, Pop Music, and Pornography", Meridians: feminism, race, transnationalism, Fall 2008, Vol. 8, No. 1, Pages 293-321
• Valerie Steele, Fetish: Fashion, Sex & Power, Oxford University Press, 1996, ISBN 978-0-19-509044-4