Maya Kalinowski

The Watcher is a graphic body superhero with an invisibility cloak that allows them to be hidden among society and observe their surroundings to fight crime. I was inspired by Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak and Assassins Creed as well as the trench coats superheroes wear as disguises when they are in public. There also is a hidden element to the costume. In order for The Watcher to activate their powers, they need to fasten the coat together and put on the hood. To signify the use of the “invisibility powers” and to prevent suspicion from the public, the eyes on the back are only visible when the hood is up.

The garment is entirely made of plastic bags. The panels are created by cutting out the inked area on 55 bags, folding them into rectangles, and ironing the rectangles to fuse the plastic. The ironed bags are sewn together to create the panels in the garment which are then assembled together to create the coat and the pockets. The fastenings on the front of the coat are knotted pieces of the inked bag that were cut out to create the panels. The eyes are fused sections of the inked plastic bags which were cut and sewn to the back of the coat.