The Lady Knighted

So here it is, guys!  This is the outfit described in Part 5 of "Another Set of Eyes"!  For those of you who have not read the story, what you're seeing here is an outfit belonging to a woman who has become affiliated with the Knights of Ren.  While she is not a full Knight, I really enjoyed the opportunity to take an aesthetic seen on Kylo Ren and his gang, and try to take it in a slightly different (feminine) direction, without losing that rough, functional, and dangerous-looking essence of it.  As noted in the story itself, this is about as far as you can get away from something like the decadent royal outfits of Naboo.  Or the objectifying outfits Jabba the Hutt forced on his slaves (ew).  Despite being a dress, this is a utilitarian outfit intended to give its wearer a mien of power.

It is okay for you to draw this design with credit, if for some crazy reason you're doing a fanart of "Another Set of Eyes," and that would be really cool! 

But it is NOT okay to claim it as your own or use it in other stories.  Also, I must ask that no one make a cosplay out of it.  I reserve the sole right to do so if I should so choose, as I have put a great deal of effort into researching references and drawing up this design.  Thank you for your understanding.

On that note, I would very much like to invite you guys to check out my currently in-progress The Force Awakens fanfic, "Another Set of Eyes" (Part 1 is located here: rensknight.deviantart.com/art/… ) 

Although it is an "x Reader," I would invite any of you who would not normally read the genre to put aside any preconceived notions and check it out anyway.  (I CAN also point you to a few cool examples from other authors if you wish.)  The scenario of "Another Set of Eyes" may be improbable in some ways (though I do not believe it to be truly impossible!), but I have a great deal of respect for the intelligence of my readers and I am making my best effort to try to stick with canon, make my conjectures as reasonable as I think I can make them, and when things do get weird, allowing the characters to act in a way that I think sensible people would react if faced with something so bizarre.  (In other words, if it makes you go "What the hell?" someone is likely to react similarly in the story.)  And as you might be able to tell from this, while I don't spill it all in the story, I put a tremendous amount of thought into what is going on in the background of my stories that you, and even the characters themselves, may not all be aware of.

I'd like to give credit to some inspirations that went into this outfit, since there are several, and in the process, also touch on some aspects of the design.

• Obviously, I must first and foremost give a shout-out to the costume designer(s) who created the final look for Kylo Ren.  While this is by no means identical, the link to that design should be apparent.  The fact that the designers came up with something that looks awesome with Kylo both masked AND unmasked is really amazing to me to say the least.

• Second, a few looks at the outfits seen on the other Knights of Ren.  The concept art is here, and a YouTube video with a high-res shot showing those costumes in action is here.  This shot really shows you what I mean about the challenge I had carrying this look into a dress, of all things.  It also leads into a conjecture I have about the Knights of Ren, which is that Force use may not be universal amongst them, because from a tactical standpoint, a Force user's greatest battle effectiveness comes from the Force, and if it is therefore not necessary to carry massive amounts of armaments (that one guy is so over the top I almost expect him to go off yelling about his BOOMSTICK at some point ), and be weighted down on the battlefield by all of that, then the more sensible choice would be to forego all that and carry a light weapon.  In contrast, a non-Force user intending to go into combat against a Force user might--like Boba Fett did--want to go in armed to the teeth.

• As I began my process of adapting the Knights of Ren aesthetic to a female wearer, this excellent cosplay came to my attention for doing what I don't see anywhere near as often as I should: and that is feminize/genderbend a costume in a way that stays tough, classy, and elegant, and doesn't "sex up" or objectify the character, or in the case of a villain's costume, diminish the threat they convey with choices that are there to show skin but are tactically stupid.  The top piece in particular caught my attention, as showcased here, and I highly recommend checking out the rest of the photos in this series.  Unfortunately I am not sure whether the photographer, cosplayer, and costume designer are one and the same, so I will simply say that if any of the three are reading, I tip my hat to you. Kylo Ren Cosplay- Ezmeralda Von Katz, KSSM Photos

• The belt buckle was inspired by a non-canon design I saw for the Knights of Ren insignia.  At this time, despite my giving a vague description of the Knights' symbol in-story, we don't really know for sure what it really looks like, so the design I did inspired by it could either be some abstract piece of art, or it could be (in the story universe) an actual emblem.  Apparently Kylo Ren's playing card in some Star Wars card game is using a symbol associated with the Sith, but that may be a concession to the rules of the game in question, given that J.J. Abrams has made clear that Kylo is something different from a Sith.  That said, based on the aesthetic we see from the Knights of Ren, I have a feeling that if such a symbol is ever revealed to exist, the description I give of "jagged and angular," as in, something rough around the edges and not exactly a fancy-looking thing, is more likely than not to be correct.  I could end up being wrong, but I feel like I'm making a good guess.

• The boots are actually very, very close to something I own, with a suede-like texture, though mine aren't steel-plated on the inside as described in story.  Too bad.   I actually plan to wear the boots you see above with a Kylo Ren cosplay I will be doing next month.  I am so excited for that it's crazy.  I cannot wait for my robes to arrive, because I really went all-out!
  

Some additional notes on certain parts of the outfit...

• Despite the appearance caused by trying to create several different textures with just graphite pencils as opposed to drawing in color, the whole outfit is in fact black.  Depending on the lighting, certain elements of it, much like Kylo Ren's own outfit, can appear charcoal grey, but that's a trick of the texturing.  In the Knights of Ren concept art I linked above, you may notice the same thing, where some of the outfits appear grey due to the rough texturing, but don't seem to play that way onscreen.

• The pleated midcoat and undertunic are, aside from tailoring, very, very similar if not identical to what Kylo Ren wears, and if you recall the scene from TFA where Kylo is talking to Darth Vader's helmet, that pretty much gives you the idea of what this outfit looks like with the outer tunic off, with literally the only difference being that it has been tailored for a feminine physique.  Which for readers of "Another Set of Eyes," means that there's a surprising amount of truth inherent in this outfit, and although I don't think of Kylo Ren as having been the one to design it, I fully expect he did provide a general description of what he wanted to whoever did, and gave the final approval before it was made.

• According to The Force Awakens: Visual Dictionary, there's something extremely cool about the midcoat and undertunic: that's armor!  Yes, the character in "Another Set of Eyes" is right, and despite the fact that in our galaxy it's just (really cool looking) cloth, it is indeed protective armor!  The Visual Dictionary seems to name the material as "armorweave" on another page.  Pleating it seems pretty smart, to double or even triple the amount of protection offered.  Which also goes a long way in my opinion to explaining how it is Kylo Ren survived getting shot by an extremely nasty weapon that we saw mowing down Stormtroopers left and right.   For readers of "Another Set of Eyes," you might note that although the wearer of this outfit has yet to be provided a weapon, she has already been given a fairly formidable defense, and one that the design of this outfit means will be seen by others.

• While the overtunic definitely draws from Kylo Ren's outfit, and the adapted version of it that I credited above, I also wanted to pick up on the textured "lines" running through the material that are seen on some of the other Knights of Ren.  The material is very similar to that of Kylo Ren's surcoat, though it is probably not the exact same "monk's cloth" material.  All of the Knights of Ren seem to have individualistic notions to their outfits, so that may be one of the differences between this outfit and Kylo's.

• The leggings are made of a thick material that keeps the wearer warm.  There is nothing at all sheer about it.

• Although you can't see it very well here, the belt, as described in the story, has places where tools and implements could be hung--and even the potential to add a weapon though one is not drawn at this time.

• Also not shown is the cape/cloak that can be added.  You can, however, see where this piece could be fastened to the shoulders as an extra way of keeping the cloak from slipping off when on the run.

• Obviously readers might imagine adaptations being made to the design for their particular build.  I happen to be 5'5" (and yes, still planning to cosplay as Kylo Ren anyway), and not built like a complete twig, so this version of it was based on my own figure and proportions.  Your mileage may vary.