Two great artists, Max Wittert and Kevin Wada, did an awesome partnership in this project, taking some of the lovely ladies of X-Men (and other Marvel characters) and creating fashionable couture inspired by them. Beautiful artworks. In terms of art style, I love how the characters are portrayed. The textures that the watercolors add make for dynamic colors and adds so much to the composition. Never imagine them fitting in on high end fashion couture. Such great technique! Simply tasteful and the color combination is striking. The realistic X-Men fashion is definitely for keeps.
X-men Do Vanity Fair
I definitely skewed in favor of fashion over comic influence this time around, but hopefully the characters are still recognizable. In case they aren't, I can run you through it real quick. First we have Rogue, then Ms. Marvel. Emma Frost, Polaris, Storm, Psylocke, and Sage. The client wanted edgy fashions, strong poses, and some asian garb inspired clothing choices. I did what I could and had a great time doing this piece.
Emma Frost
The queen of ice is giving high fashion.
Cyclops
X-fashion explosion. Cyclops to the front of the runway. I wanted him bold and all-American. A little bit of Tom Ford with a classic physique (not good with the muscles, btw). Originally his eyes were muted by the cellophane visor thingy, but he's Cyclops. His eyes should shiiiinnneee.
Scarlet Witch
Here we have Scarlet Witch who is serving up old-Hollywood vampiness. I kept her costume pretty straight-forward and recognizable - gunning for 40s bathing suit meets modern corset and hot pants. She has a golden age of Hollywood kind of costuming going on. MGM period musical, possibly?
Bishop
I'll be honest, I really struggled with Bishop. He's an amazing character and pulling aspects of him into the fashion world was not easy for me. I'm most happy with his newly stylish flannel red bandana, which is an update of his staple. I went for a Mad Max, dystopian future fashion kind of feel. Didn't want to lose his bulk and power.
Dark Phoenix
Setting runways on fire.
Lilandra
Lilandra was a hard one. I wanted to capture an ornate regality and she came out much more delicate than she's normally portrayed. I wanted her features to be multi-ethnic since she's not human. Something hard to pin-point. I had a blast with her crown and fantastic eyeliner.
Magneto
I saw in my head something aristocratic about him. He's a count or a duke or something old fashion powerful. He needed to be ruggedly handsome but also devilishly dark looking. Small hint to his powers as he fetches his metal cane, and the broach holding his cape together might be taken right off his signature helmet (that I decided against fashioning up). I could have pushed more of his costume elements but let's just imagine this is Magneto in London, pursuing human domination and sipping tea with his rich snobby friends.
Kitty Pryde
The main challenge with Kitty Pryde was what my friend Max astutely recognized as a lack of environment in these fashion illustrations. How do you draw an illustration somehow hinting a characters power when her power relies greatly on her surroundings? It was a fun obstacle and I'm happy with the way I decided to deal with it. Rainbow acrylic bracelets and lace blindfold and navy tigress dress all as an ode to her old costume.
Callisto
With Callisto it was all about turning her tough biker chick persona into something fashion and editorial. Instead of an eye patch I thought it might be cool to give her a sunglass monocle. I think I had the most fun designing her snake-themed-platform-thigh-high boots. Ridics.
X-23
X-fashions are back! Hope you get a kick out of my interpretation of X-23. For her I thought sleek. Dolce and Gabbana meets S&M? Her shoulders are adorned with tiny scorpions, though they are very hard to make out. Her steel toe boots are a nod to her hidden little foot cutter. Happiest with: hair and makeup.
Emma Frost
Danielle Moonstar aka Mirage
Ms. Moonstar has been a favorite of mine for awhile. There's a soft spot in my heart for the New Mutants. She joins Karma and Magma in this fashion series and the theme for her is FEATHERS. Feathers for days. I can't say the styling of her is incredibly indicative of her character or her powers, and lord, her hair was a missed opportunity. But I love the way the feather dress turned out, and her shoes are possibly my favorite thing. Hints of her origins and her companion can be seen in her heels, and a hint of bow pops in on the lower left.
Marvel Girl
Magma
Ms. Magma was a joy to create. She sort of looks like a clam on fire, but I kind of dig that. She's high as a kite fashion. For her I thought hard and soft. Shell and chiffon. The silk blowing up past her head was an original thought I had for Dark Phoenix but I'm glad I got to implement it here. The colors were a no brainer. A little weird, but I hope you dig it.
Chamber
The X-fashions continue and this time we got some mens doing the heavy lifting. Chamber was one of my favorites in the Generation X series for being angsty, brooding, and sexy. Who doesn't love a hot mouth? I had a lot of fun going for a Mugler-esque kind of raunch with his design. And some wrapped chiffon around the neck for his psionic energy.
Mystique
Work that ponytail, shapeshifter.
Lady Deathstrike
Those nails were made for editorial work.
Karma
With Karma, I wanted to include recognizable elements of her past wardrobe without being too obvious. I gave her her yellow headband and turned her parasol into the same shape they sometimes used to portray her mind powers.
90s X-Fashion Realness
The client wanted early 90s fashion, so I gave it to him in spades. Great art direction by him. We have Oya, Storm, Frenzy, and M. (I also loved showcasing ONLY ethnic minority mutants. How often does that get to happen??) I really wanted to capture the features of African American women. I hate when artists/comics draw western features for a character, give them a dark tan, and call it a day.
These stunning couture fashion designs inspired by Marvel characters show just how beautifully pop culture and high fashion can blend. They give us a fresh look at our favorite superheroes and villains, merging captivating storytelling with avant-garde style.
If you loved this fusion of fashion and comics, be sure to check out our article on the X-Men redesign in real life. Discover how classic X-Men costumes are reimagined with accurate movie costume redesigns that bring these iconic characters even closer to reality.
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