I wish to be a superhero and fight evil robots
Price
7
heart condition
Transforming wish kids into superheroes, stitch by stitch
When seven-year-old wish kid Christopher put on his ninja costume, his heart condition was the last thing on his mind. Christopher became the star of his own story as he was transformed into a superhero who saved the day.
While superhero wishes like Christopher’s take an entire community, there’s one role behind-the-scenes that truly has an immediate, transformative impact: the costume designer.
“A costume is really a remarkably transformative thing,” said Heidi Zamora. Heidi would know: she’s been a costume designer for years and now teaches costume design at Seattle University. “I imagine it can help wish kids feel powerful to become a strong character when things may seem like they are out of their control.”
Sarah Gordon, costume designer and costume shop head at Seattle Children’s Theater, agrees. She worked with a team to create a superhero costume for wish kid Price, who wished to be a superhero who battled and defeated supervillain robots. “We as costume designers can help empower kids to own that power and fight,” she said.
Superhero ninja Christopher during his virtual reality battle.
Neither Heidi or Sarah ever imagined their skills and experience would lead them to Make-A-Wish. But once approached, they realized that it takes skills of all kinds to grant wishes.
“I think everybody can always bring something to the table,” said Sarah. “If you don’t have a physical skill like sewing, you can make a donation to buy the fabric. Or if you’ve got a venue or a place where people can come, snacks, anything … everybody has something they can bring.”
For Heidi and Sarah, that meant custom designing costumes for two local superheroes. Each costume is as thoughtful and individual as the wish child themselves.
Christopher’s ninja costume includes hand-painted details and textures that can’t be found in any other garments.
Price received a superhero costume with a custom logo and utility belt. It’s designed with stretchy fabrics so it can grow with him.
Superhero Price before he saved his city from supervillan robots.
“I think part of me was like he could always wear it, it wasn’t just for the day,” said Sarah about Price’s costume. “He could put it on when he needed to … that he’d have it to be wearable whenever he needed that boost.”
And Sarah and Heidi found a boost of energy and inspiration from helping to grant these two wishes. That’s because a wish transforms the lives of children, their families, volunteers, supporters, medical professionals and entire communities.
“Getting involved with a wish is such an amazing opportunity to be able to share what you do with someone who can really use a little lift,” said Heidi.