The Making of Kill Bill Costume & Character

It took about a month to gather all the essential pieces for creating the costume character, from obtaining the right yellow motorcycle suit to crafting the shoes.

11/8/20243 min read

Introduction

Beatrix 'The Bride' is the principal character from Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" series. Born as Beatrix Kiddo, she is a former member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (DiVAS). After discovering she’s pregnant, she decides to quit her squad and marry (not to the father of the baby). During her wedding rehearsal, where all the guests are murdered by her former Viper Squad members, Beatrix Kiddo gets shot by Bill (the Squad leader) but survives.

Beatrix Kiddo is characterised by her striking appearance (blond hair) and yellow motorcycle leather suit (in vol.1), a homage to Bruce Lee (The Game of Death Yellow one-piece), and wielding a katana (made by Hattori Hanzo) —symbolic of her fierce fighting skills and focus on martial arts.

Through both parts of the film, she seeks and exacts revenge; she transforms from a victim into a formidable warrior. Her story is full of epic battles, a unique blend of action and style that's made her a legend in film and even cosplay circles.

The members of the "DiVAS" consist of the following:

Beatrix Kiddo (codename: Black Mamba) played by Uma Thurman.
Vernita Green (codename: Copperhead) played by Vivica A. Fox.
O-Ren Ishii (codename: Cottonmouth) played by Lucy Liu.
Elle Driver (codename: California Mountain Snake) played by Daryl Hannah.
Budd (codename: Sidewinder) played by Michael Madsen.
Bill (codename: Snake Charmer) played by David Carradine.

a man in a yellow jacket and yellow shoes

Creation of the Beatrix Kiddo 'Kill Bill' costume character

It took about a month to gather all the essential pieces for creating the costume character, from obtaining the right yellow motorcycle suit to crafting the shoes.

The costume consisted of the following pieces:

the Yellow Motorcycle Suit (jacket and trousers), (USA),
the Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66 shoes (old shoes, re-designed),
iconic Hattori Hanzo sword replica (gift),
transformative character wig (England),
green contact lenses.

Yellow Motorcycle Suit

Transforming my Kill Bill motorcycle jacket into a near-perfect replica (I'm still trying to find out what type of patch is on the back of the jacket but couldn’t find the right answer!) took a long-dedicated session, starting at 3:30 PM and stretching until 1 AM. The original jacket had several inaccuracies, so I felt compelled to correct it.

I started by removing the misplaced black fabric covering the zip and repurposing it to fill in missing sections on the sides of the jacket. Next, I shortened the length of the jacket and adjusted the belt length and style for a more accurate and comfortable fit.

The result? A jacket that now truly embodies Beatrix's iconic style and is actually enjoyable to wear. It was a long day and night but totally worth it!

Kill Bill in a yellow jacket and yellow jacket

Kill Bill in a yellow jacket holding a katana and a knife

The Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66

‘The Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66’ shoes (old shoes, re-designed)

These were a white pair of old gym shoes, which I hand-painted with acrylic paint and sewn black polyester ribbons on the sides, also a yellow leather strip and the name ‘Tiger’ on the back of the shoes at the back like the original Onitsuka Tiger shoes. I left the Velcro instead of the shoelaces, though, to give them my ‘small touch’. I completed them over three days.

a pair of shoes and a acrylic paint on a table

a yellow and black shoe with a toy tiger

Other costume details:

yellow T-shirt. (found at Matalan in a perfect shade of 'Kill Bill' yellow!)
transformative character wig (from Lush Wigs, England), lushwigs.com
iconic Hattori Hanzo sword replica (this was a gift from Sabumnim (martial arts instructor) of the martial arts school I go to
a veil , this was my original wedding veil for ‘The Bride’ (which eventually I left behind by mistake!
a pair of green contact lenses.