Superman Redesign - 6 Months Later Together

Hi Owen. Fun design. What puzzle me, so to speak, is the thinking behind it. Is there a link between the two designs or did you want to present your artistic skills ?
I can't see how you evolved from step 1 to step 2.I noticed you like Supes to have armbands and yellow on the boots but how did you transform the belt you created into this new futuristic-never-seen-before kind of trunk ? Care to talk about it ?