Turtle Doves

THE SHOW: “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”

THE SET-UP: Based on the veeeery popular comic book/cartoon characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, this film charts the adventures of a quartet of rambunctious mutant teen-age turtles who live in the sewers of New York, where they fight crime. With the help of human reporter April O’Neil (Judith Hoag) and martial artist vigilante Casey Jones (Elias Koteas), the teen-age turtles chase after The Foot, a gang of street kids and ninja warriors. Therein lies the tale.

THE LOOK: The turtle’s togs in foam rubber are manufactured by the wizardly Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets. But there is a Raymond Chandler style trench coat and hat disguise one turtle wears, which costume designer John Hay put together. Clothes for the sinister ninja Foot gang are the typical, Kung Fu black belt variety. But the Shredder’s samurai-like costume is awesome, based on early designs by the comics creators Eastman and Laird. About the totally radical cape, Hay said, “We had a whole superstructure under it to keep the fabric out and flowing. The fabric is a synthetic that is over dyed and over-sprayed.” The grungy street wear for actor Elias Koteas is off the rack. The same is true for Judith Hoag as reporter April O’Neil. “We decided against the yellow jumpsuit April wears in the comics,” said Hay. She needed to look more like a modern, TV anchor woman.

THE LABELS: Hey, get real! Turtles don’t NEED labels! However, sidewalk vendors in Soho and the East Village in New York provided most of the 500 outfits Hay needed for the Foot gang. And since the film was made last summer, in a very hot North Carolina, most clothing decisions were made for comfort and a quick change.

THE WRAP UP: Ninja wear could be the hot fashion look for night prowlers this summer--a turtleneck, tight pants and subtle shoes, all black, along with a bold colored headband. And turtle togs could win the race for daytime’s trendiest pre-teens. Already the look has flooded the pajama and T-shirt markets. And we saw a kid wearing a turtle mask the other day.