Now that Power Rangers is on home video, fans who missed the film in theaters will be able to see the adventure that revisited the classic franchise through a more modern lens and attempted to kickstart a new series. Whether that's successful or not, there's one aspect of the reboot that can't be denied, and that's the fact that the new suits on the Rangers look pretty awesome. Though there is still an element that's ruffled some feathers beyond the typical gripe that the suits look too modern, and it has to do with the armor on the female team members. In particular, the fact that Power Rangers features female armor that shows pronounced breasts has been a point of contention, and it's a point that costume designer Kelli Jones has tried to debunk with the following explanation:
First of all, the original Rangers had skirts on. People were up in arms about it, like, 'Oh my god, these girls have boobs.' The fact is these girls do have boobs, so to make them androgynous, what's the point when the original Rangers had skirts? I think the alternative would have looked off. To fit those girls, they would have to be flat and so far off their bodies that it wouldn't have looked right.
Stripping Jones's argument to its core, the assumption that the Power Rangers armor was less functional and more scandalous seems flat out wrong. Taking into account the body types of the ladies in the cast, to give them a flatter- looking suit would cause them to look blockier than their male counterparts. To be able to act in bulky suits like that would be hard enough, but to have those suits function in a more practical respect during action scenes would be pure hell. Though there is another, simpler reason that the female cast members have their suits.
With the armor coming from within the Rangers themselves, their outfits are built to fit the exact contour of their bodies. So with two female Power Rangers on the team, their armor is naturally going to accentuate the curves and features of their bodies, much like the armor on the male members of the team would show off their physical attributes. If these suits were designed like their original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers suits, those skirts that Kelli Jones pointed out in her interview with Inverse Entertainment would have come back. If there's anything that epitomizes formless additions to a costume, in the name of gender separation, those skirts would have to be the prime example.
There's a pre-existing explanation for why Power Rangers' Yellow and Pink Rangers have more shapely costumes, so the complaints that the armor is merely designed to titillate the audience seem pretty unfounded. But if there's a silver lining that this argument should bring up, it's the fact that costume design has come a long way from just being something that the audience would merely look at. If you'd like to look at the recent incarnation of the Power Rangers, the film is currently available on Digital HD, Blu-ray and DVD.
