Doesn’t every bride dream of a strapless, silver wedding gown that looks as if it has been sprayed on her body?
Maybe not, but it’s the one Nicole Miller designed for mutant super-heroine Jean Grey to wear as she strolls down the aisle and marries Scott Summers, better known as Cyclops, in Marvel Comics’ issue No. 30 of X-Men, now hitting the stands.
As you would expect, when two mutant superheroes marry, it’s not an ordinary wedding. Maid of honor Storm uses her X-powers to create a sunny day in the midst of a snowstorm for the outdoor ceremony. Wedding guests include Rachel, Grey’s “daughter from a possible future,” Dr. Charles Xavier and many X-Men. One exception is Wolverine, with whom Grey had a tumultuous relationship before her romance with Cyclops.
“I loved doing it,” Miller said. “Jean is a realistic figure, so I couldn’t make her look high-tech or futuristic. When she got married, she wouldn’t want an outrageous dress. It’s sort of a classic, modern look.”
It’s no accident it’s not the sort of gown you’ll find in bridal shops or magazines.
“I think contemporary wedding gowns are horrible,” Miller said. “I’m appalled at what people get married in. I cringe when I open up Bride’s magazine and see that overdone stuff.”
Although it’s Miller’s first wedding gown for comics, she said, “I’ve made several wedding gowns for people who couldn’t find anything in the market they’d be caught dead in.”
Pamela Rutt, spokeswoman for Marvel Comics, said Miller was a natural to design Grey’s wedding gown, since Miller’s signature print neckties and scarves have included both X-Men and Spider-Man prints.
“We know she has a good feeling for the characters and gets into their spirits,” Rutt said.
Only once before has a major fashion designer been asked to create a wedding gown for a comic character. Willie Smith designed Mary Jane Watson’s gown for her marriage to Peter Parker, better known as Spider-Man, shortly before Smith’s death in 1987.
