"My single favorite part of it are the epaulets on Dredd’s shoulders — instead of a shoulder patch with an eagle embroidered on it like you might see on a cop today, Dredd’s design just takes that simple element and makes it bigger and bigger and bigger until he’s literally wearing a statue of an eagle on his shoulder, which itself becomes treated super-seriously by the characters as a mark of his rank. And since the Eagle takes so much room, well, he doesn’t have the American flag patch that you see on policemen and soldiers, so that migrates down to his belt, where it’s incorporated into yet another gigantic eagle. And while we’re on the subject of the belt, since crime in Mega City one is so out of control, he has to have a belt that’s overstuffed with crime-fighting equipment, putting even the bulkiest real world policeman’s utility belt to shame. It’s got so much going on that he doesn’t even have room for his gun. He has to keep that down in his boots. And then there’s the badge, which is just a thing of beauty. From an iconographic standpoint, Dredd’s badge is right up there with the Bat-Signal and the Superman shield, but like everything else, it’s five steps further over the top. It’s the third eagle on the costume (Judge Dredd is set in America, I don’t know if you’ve picked up on that), and rather than a single letter or a symbol, it just straight up says DREDD. Full name. Right on it. Amazing. And then there’s the chain that connects it to the zipper, which is always pulled up. And then there’s the glove pouches. And the kneepads. And the knuckledusters. And the helmet. It doesn’t stop. And what’s really bananas about it is that it’s a uniform. Multiple characters wear this same outfit, sometimes a dozen at once in a single panel, which I have to imagine is why British comic book artists are driven to drink. They have to draw every single part of this costume over and over again, and you can’t really skimp on it because it’s perfect."
— Chris Sims on
Judge Dredd
Judge Dredd"It seems to be one of the principles of fashion that once an exaggeration has been decided on it becomes ever more exaggerated."
— James Laver, The Concise History of Costume and Fashion
