Behind the Scenes: Creating Three Masters of the Universe Costumes Under an Impossible Deadline

Sometimes the biggest challenge in costume design isn’t the costume itself — it’s time.

This project started about a month before the event: three custom costumes inspired by Masters of the Universe — Skeletor, He-Man, and Teela. A month may sound like enough time, but for three complex costumes involving custom fabrication, 3D-printed weapons and accessories, specialty materials, fittings, painting, and finishing, it was already an extremely tight schedule.

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The first week disappeared almost immediately into discussions, sketches, design decisions, fabric selection, and ordering materials. The 3D-printed pieces — including Skeletor’s mask and staff and the swords — took approximately another week to produce.

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Suddenly, what looked like a month-long project had become roughly one week of actual construction time for three costumes.

And then the actors changed.

When the Actor Changes, the Costume Changes Too

Two of the three actors were changed after we had already started building the costumes. Their body types and measurements were significantly different from the original performers.

This is one of those problems that sounds simple until you are actually standing in the workroom with a nearly finished costume. Some things can be altered. Others really need to be built for the correct body from the beginning.

Skeletor was originally made for an average man wearing approximately a size L. The actor who ultimately arrived was much taller and needed an XL because of his muscular build.

The muscle suit was already constructed.

At that point, there was no time to remake it.

So we had to make the existing costume fit him. I opened the suit between the legs, under the arms, and around parts of the biceps and inserted stretch mesh into those areas. I deliberately chose mesh rather than another solid fabric because the costume covered almost his entire body, and Los Angeles was hot. The extra ventilation would at least make it a little more comfortable for the actor.

Even with those alterations, the back of the suit could not close completely. Fortunately, Skeletor’s cape covered that area.

It wasn’t the solution I would have designed from the beginning.

It was the solution that allowed the actor to walk onto the red carpet.

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The Final Result

Despite the last-minute changes, all three costumes were completed in time for the event. Seeing Skeletor, He-Man, and Teela together on the red carpet was the final step in a project that had changed almost daily from beginning to end.

For me, this project was a perfect example of what custom costume design often looks like behind the scenes: adapting, rebuilding, solving unexpected problems, and still making the deadline.