Fans have mentioned how vivid descriptions are in Weun Academy: The Shadow Maker. Among them are the descriptions of what everyone is wearing. Let’s dive into the behind-the-scenes thought process around some of those fashions!
Let’s start with the academy jumper. Uniforms are common among schools across our world. While controversial, some suggest they promote equality and reduce social pressure, reduce bullying based on appearance or wealth, build community and a shared identity, improve focus on academics, increase safety through identifying intruders, simplifying morning routines, and reinforcing discipline and professionalism.
The Japanese culture heavily influenced Weun Academy with their school uniforms along with portrayals in across manga and anime.
Looking to other beloved series, the first two Harry Potter movies used standard robes and uniforms. In the sci-fi space Ender’s Game (2013) was a heavy military focused school that had uniforms for their students. Every version of Star Trek had their students and cadets in uniforms.
It only seemed “logical” to design something for Weun Academy’s futuristic school for those with superpowers.
Here was the original design…
Because training was both academic and very physical, the uniform had to be versatile, cloth breathable. Footwear had to be classic and functional. I wanted to include the school colors including the purple tones. I wanted something that someone in real life could see themselves buying and wearing (at least to cosplay and at conventions)!
I also thought about ways students could could determine the classification of someone’s abilities. The pin on the neck represents one of six D’mok Classifications (the sprit, the body, the mind, the world, the universe, the beyond). Perhaps there could be a secondary connecting pin that could indicate more specific sub-classifications.
On the chest, the Weun Academy emblem would serve as a communicator, holographic emitter, localized computational device with embedded AI, etc.
The final design is inspired heavily by Star Trek DS9, TNG, and Discovery. I feel this result would be something that could fit well into that property while still being distinct.