Geek is definitely chic or it will be so at the beginning of June. A few days ago Marvel announced indeed the debut of a new X-Men team with the Hellfire Gala mini-event.
In June all the X-Men titles will tell the story of Krakoa's inaugural gala, a sort of red carpet event, that calls to mind real-life celebrations such as the Met Gala, the event that kicks off the yearly Costume Institute exhibition at the Met Museum.
The Met Gala or, as André Leon Talley calls it, "the Super Bowl of social fashion events," is about who can serve the best look and competition is fierce there. But it sounds like the Hellfire Gala has the potential of being as fierce as that.
Members and dignitaries of the X-Men's nation of Krakoa are invited at the gala, that was anticipated in Marauders #7 when Emma Frost told Callisto that Jumbo Carnation, the mutant fashion guru who making bespoke clothes for mutants, suggested they have a Hellfire Gala (whatever that would be - View this photo), to announce future plans such as the new line-up of the first Krakoan X-Men team.
Some of Marvel's most famous mutants will also turn up for the occasion in exclusive couture looks designed by artist Russell Dauterman.
Dauterman, known for his work on Jason Aaron's Thor and on X-Men titles such as Marauders, designed several high-fashion-influenced gala outfits for some of the most prominent X-Men, including Storm, Jean Grey, Emma Frost, Cyclops, Rachel Summers, Angel, M, Captain Britain, Rogue and Kate Pryde.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Dauterman stated that, since he was a teenager he loved drawing X-Men characters in their costumes.
For this project he kept firmly in mind high fashion and in particular designs by Alexander McQueen, Iris van Herpen, Balmain, Moschino, Givenchy, Versace, Gaultier, Gucci, and many more.
Dauterman did his own research, though, and, rather than merely borrowing, he wondered how a Haute Couture version of a superhero costume may look like.
Illustrations recently released by Marvel show some of his interpretations with Emma Frost in a voluminous fur coat accessorised with a matching headdress and heels hinting at her power of shapeshifting into an organic diamond form.
There are multiple looks for her including a glittering evening dress open on the sides with panels made of diamond strands (Dauterman also added notes on his sketches as a fashion designers would do).
While the main inspiration for Captain Britain was Alexander McQueen, a fierce liquid latex look for Rachel Summers conjures up in your mind Thierry Mugler's quote "I adore strict, flawless women who are capable of going to extremes". You can bet that this costume will prompt many cosplayers to experiment with latex and silicone prosthetics at the next comic conventions.
Storm wears instead a cape made with clouds with lightning flickering throughout, plus there are sculpted wedge boots, headpieces like the super spiky red fascinator for M (Monet St. Croix) and gloves to check out. Besides, more fashion-looks for the X-Men will be featured in the stories, designed by other artists.
The parallel between fashion and comics works quite well: fashion designers look at comics to empower wearers with their creations; comic book artists look at fashion instead to get inspired by the latest silhouettes, materials and fashion innovations and then reinterpret them in the costumes for their superhuman beings.
Kicking off on June 2 with Marauders #21, the twelve parts of the Hellfire Gala (with art by Stephen Segovia, Matteo Lolli, John Bolton, Joshua Cassara, Nick Dragotta, Sara Pichelli, Lucas Werneck and Pepe Larraz, just to mention a few) will crossover into nearly all the X-books.
An opportunity to get dressed up with comics in mind, the gala promises not just epic battles, but epic fashions. Mutandom has never been more stylish and, who knows, it may even inspire a second chapter of the Met Museum 2008 exhibition "Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy".
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