The show draws parallels between the garb and iconography of Superman, Spider-Man, Wonder Woman et al with the work of designers including Alexander McQueen, John Galliano and Thierry Mugler.

The accompanying catalogue, by Pentagram’s Abbott Miller, juxta­poses fashion imagery, comic book details and film and TV stills of superheroes in a comic book frame format. The images have been closely cropped and break the frames to heighten the sense of interconnection. The catalogue’s cover is made from pressed tin recalling superhero armour as well as novelty lunchboxes.

Inside, the pages have a high-gloss acrylic coating to make the colours pop from the page. In an effort to differentiate the introduction by Michael Chabon from the rest of the catalogue, the essay was designed as a book within a book and printed with a silver border as opposed to white, Pentagram says.

Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy is published by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and distributed by Yale University Press. The exhibition is on until September 1.

Design: Pentagram 
Designers: Abbott Miller, Johnschen Kudos