#her hellfire gala outfit was a step for that

[lovecatsys]

live your goth girl truth Laura!!!

[hessobbingincabo]

my thoughts on the Hellfire Gala (2022) outfits, in order of their appearance in the guidebook

scarlet witch - these guidebooks always start with the bangers huh? wanda really has that “space deity” look thanks to that ombre effect, and don’t even get me started on those dashing rings and that detailed headpiece, a certified 10/10

havok - while i don’t dislike this look on alex, last year’s outfit really does outshine this one for me; not necessarily horrible, but some more interesting concepts could’ve been included to elevate the blandness of “back in black” (a wild headpiece or some whirlwind sunglasses maybe?)

spider-man - i can see the 2099 inspirations here and i couldn’t be happier for it; the glowing parts really do it for me, along with those almost sneaker-like accents on his feet and wow i can’t get enough of that spider logo - absolute win

gambit - now this is a remy design done well, and whilst last year’s black 3-piece wasn’t horrendous, it was dull, but to make up for it this year they nailed it with just enough of that gambit flair; that said, it captures his flirtiness and pizzaz perfectly, job well done - especially adore those blue accents, tying the look together flawlessly

black widow - where do i start? all those satin (lace?) sections, especially that veil, really add to that seductive mysterious femme fatale poise that nat has in heaps, the golden accents and the almost scorpion-like braid certainly certify this as an eXcellent ensemble

magik - [edit] so yeah, this outfit grew on me; maybe not as evocative as last year, this year magik’s regalia is self-contained and straight-forward in it’s influences and it definitely ends up on my “good” list at the end of the day

dr. doom - we’re back on track with this glorious doom attire; absolutely screams “royalty” and overall is certainly in my top 5 outfits from the entire gala - absolutely no gripes with any part of this design

wolverine/x-23 - while last year gave us an unimpressive one-piece dress, this year they more than made up for it, regarding every piece of laura’s styling with creativity; this “punk” look unironically has all the spunk i would expect of laura - from the heavy boots to the accent belts and (this time) very well-placed slits with a striking mask solidify this look as an exciting addition to kinney’s wardrobe

synch - contrary to above, synch’s whole “generation x”-inspired get-up really is a step back from his brilliant, simple suit from last year; nothing here stands out, all just blending in with those rainbow accents which just look tacky to me, with the zipper being the most eye-catching piece of the whole design, which puts it at a solid 3/10 (yes i know it’s his regular costume but a lot more could’ve been done as he is a full-fledged x-man now!)

iceman - now we’re talking! bobby absolutely kills it this year with a coherent ice suit, which really contrasts last year’s messy dress and wings, this time complimenting bobby’s flirtiness; on top of it all, as you know i’m a sucker for the “outfit-being-part-of-character’s-physiology” thing, and it works like a charm here

she-hulk - jen looks debonair, with a straightforward 2-piece with the loose trousers flattering her physique fabilously, masterfully contrasting her femininity and strength; not one of my absolute favorites but a worthy addition to jen’s most iconic looks - i also really love the glasses

emma frost - right on par, our queen of the gala is again rocking a white and gold dress with many cutouts, showing everyone who the absolute boss is; some of last year’s outfits actually suited her better in my opinion, but as far as formalwear goes this is yet another strong inclusion in emma’s expansive gown collection

captain america/steve rogers - steve looks undoubtedly sharp with his 40′s inspired 3-piece, in those iconic reds, whites and blues; the pinstripe was a nice idea and the cape fits him finely - a illustrious look for a distinguished man

captain america/sam wilson - sam knew what the assignment was and passed with flying colours (pun intended); nothing bad about this design, but nothing stands out that i can even comment on, but still a good look nonetheless - do like the shield design tho!

captain marvel - continuing the trend with the flag colors, carol’s absolute saving grace is her jacket, which reminds me of wanda with those space elements (which if u think about it makes more sense with carol, than with wanda but oh well), but i feel like more could’ve been done to make her stand out a with some accessories or a design on her suit; still charming tho 

cyclops - catwalk-ready and dressed to impress, this is yet another strike for scott; his gala looks always bring something fresh to his suit collection, with this year’s really swerving for that pirate look with the loose shirt and overlapping garments, possibly refrencing a certain space pirate...? my only minor complaint is that i would’ve liked to see some more colors, but maybe next year

jean grey - the mutants’ garbs are some of the strongest in the gala (as it should be), with jean taking the lead with her 3 confirmed looks, which absolutely cement the “marvel girl” pastiche vibes; even if they’re not perfect, each of jean’s get-ups has something to enjoy and while i’d like to see some 90′s or phoenix-inspired dresses, this year jean may be crowned “best-dressed” but we’ll have to wait and see (ps. i adored last year’s costume a lot, so it’ll be hard for me to say these are jean’s best gala looks but don’t quote me on that yet :)

forge - forge actually didn’t recieve a gala outfit last year and they are slightly making up for it this year with a surprisingly solid entrance; while i have to admit that i find forge as a character boring, but his suit - simple as it is, works like a charm and i can say that it is a certified top 10

iron man - tony.. who hurt you, my friend? i know for a fact that he dresses to impress, so what happened here? a fancy armor with a bowtie or a longer coat would’ve done miracles to elevate this design, but alas, we are left with crumbs... do better next year

rogue - wow... just wow. i didn’t think rogue could have a bad gala look, and well... i still think that! rogue looks absolutely breathtaking, as always and at this point i’m convinced they can’t physically can’t put rogue in a bad outfit, she would still rock it! a sure 10/10

namor - okayyy, king of atlantis, finally clothes fit for a king! last year namor showed up in his regular suit, which really bummed me as namor is NOT the guy who would underdress for an event, but now he actually put some effort in; while it is not great, as it’s literally just a fin-textured 2-piece with a trident, it’s a step in the right direction

wolverine - i actually am not sure if this is an official design, as it’s just logan dancing with jean in a regular black tuxedo, but it weirdly works; here’s hoping he actually gets a cool design, but i wouldn’t necessarily hate it if they stuck with the classics with him 

+ bonus

(from the textless “first look” preview)

clea - full on dr. strange cosplay going on, but i have to admit - the black perfectly compliments the red cape and her hair is interesting visually, but that’s how far i’d go; it’s a glorified super hero costume and this is a private event - c’mon clea, do better (also it’s a crime that no purple was incorporated in her outfit, a crime i tell you)

bishop - so, i’m conflicted... i don’t hate it, but i don’t love it either; compared to last year this look is a godsend, but i still feel that it doesn’t capture bishop fully, like where are the futuristic elements and the iconic “M” scar?, that said it’s still a solid look and the reds really cement that “red bishop” title he’s going for

mary jane - [BIG SPOILERS AHEAD] so it was revealed that our beloved redhead is being impersonated by none other than moira herself... but she did dress exquisitely, i do have do admit; simple, but elegant

cypher - doug actually received a hellfire look, a win in my book and while it is on the uninspired side it is a step up from his boring tuxedo last year; the chains & neckpiece the are popping tho

morph - very faintly, amongst the crowd we can spot one of my favorite obscure x-men characters, benjamin deeds and he looks chic; to contrast his boyfriend he’s wearing a cyan coat, but that’s all that could be made out and i can’t wait to see him in full

hindsight - next to morph is undoubtedly his boyfriend nate; absolutely rocking that pink, to appear as a complimenting contrast to morph’s cyan; again, bias does play a slight role here, but i do want to see him in his full glory to comment more thoroughly

polaris - i was absolutely right with my predictions, polaris looks stunning and i couldn’t have expected less from the mistress of magnetism herself; a highlight of the gala for sure

sunfire - another physiological outfit, based on sunfire’s flames and obviously it’s a 10 out of 10 from me; they just know how to play around with my favorite outfit trope and i’m happy to see shiro with those black flowing lines really finishing up his explosive look off

kate pryde - i hate to confess but the red queen thing is growing on me slightly, as i don’t really see any flaws with this design; we can see very little but what we do see is very well thought out and placed, so yeah i can’t believe i’m saying this but - a good 8/10 is in order

professor x - ricocheting off of last year’s absolutely atrocious design, this year charles’ outfit was toned down and with that came coherence; again a very big step-up from last year and the biggest surprise for me - maybe another potential favorite in-the-running

shinobi shaw - the best i can say is... eh? it just looks like a rehash from last year(which wasn’t too impresive either, even if i did like it), i wish they stray from other rehashes with the major characters (which has been the case so far); benefit of the doubt, we’ll wait until we see the whole thing

mystique - so i’m not a 100% sure if that’s her, could be some obscure atlantean but due to her proximity to her wife i’d assume that’s raven; i really like this look! it’s fashionable, effortless and even if i did dig her last year “evil queen” feather gown a little more, this one is a worthy successor 

destiny - not much is visible, but from what we see, even if it’s not horrible, i wish more was done - playing around with her mask, adding flair to the helmet/head area; recognisability is important but it’s not supposed to halt creativity, and we can see it hasn’t stopped them with other characters

firestar - a surprising addition to this year’s festivities, but i love that angelica is back and even if her “outfit” is just her costume, it’s still cute and the bob really suits her <3

wolfsbane - appearing in a single panel, rahne puts all her cards on the table with a simple black suit & tie combo with gold elements; maybe a bit too simple for my liking, as more “wolf” motifs could’ve been included, but still a solid look for her imo

shaman(?) - a character that is never named, who i’m assuming is shaman, but never confirmed, sitting next to rahne at the gambling table; my boy looks stylish, even if we see just a glimpse... wish he was at least named, so i know who i’m complimenting

feilong - stylish & dapper, feilong’s appearance at the gala certainly doesn’t entail anything good; at least he himself does look dashing in his simple 3-piece, with the green accent just adding a nice contrast to his red skin

mr. fantastic - whilst reed’s design isn’t anything groundbreaking, his simple suit is really charming, with the coat giving me that “scientist” vibe that is right up the man’s alley; another hit in the right direction here

black panther - again, debatable which character is actually sitting next to emma at the poker table but all signs point to the king of wakanda; we see a slight glimpse of him, but we all know t’challa knows how to dress so yet another strong male design at the party is present

shuri - as with her brother, i am unsure if this character is actually shuri but it would make sense, no? anyways, shuri’s cream dress and gold jewelry are very nice, but c’mon the princess of wakanda wearing something so boring is just not it; give me tribal patterns, bold colours, play with hairstyles and headpieces... not a bad look, just a boring one

deadpool - a cameo from the man himself, wade appears to be donning a 1800′s inspired costume, which we see from the back; i can’t really comment on the whole thing as it’s a 1-panel thing but i guess its nice?

greycrow - boring black suit. tie. fitting for a character who i myself find uninteresting as well...

stepford cuckoos - is this a step up or down from last year, i can’t tell you... this year the sisters decided to go for the “greek handmaidens” looks and with barely any accessories, this is one of the worst designs of the gala for me... such a let-down from clones of one of the most fashionable comic characters ever

banshee - yes. just yes. banshee is again, one of the most dapper men at the gala, with him really becoming one of those male fashion staples of the x-men for me; couldn’t praise it enough, even if we barely saw any of it 

mr. sinister - why? just why wasn’t he included in the handbook? i absolutely REVERE how sinister went all “royal” this year, definite step-up from his last look (which i also enjoyed); blowing it out of the water, he showed last years’ professor x, magneto & monarch how it’s done - 10/10

gwenpool - magic school girl. absolutely on brand for gwen. just a big thumbs up from me

scout - gabi really took a page out of her sister’s book and showed up, looking hella good! another very solid addition to the hellfire gala line-up, can’t wait to see her explore her style more 

psylocke - [edit] thank god for david nakayama, as we can finally behold kwannon in her absolutely breathtaking psychic knives dress, which shoots her straight to top 5 looks from the gala

as far as designs go, these are all that are revealed to us so far, but i can’t wait to see some of last year’s mutants & some new designs for our beloved regular heroes recieve looks to update it with some new thoughts!

[su-whisterfield]

Reposting my design for Kurt for the Hellfire Gala.

They all, Jean thinks, look fantastic. She sips her champagne. The crackle of Ororo’s thunderstorm cloak raises the ozone level and there’s the snap of static in the air. Scott looks gorgeous, she really approves of his outfit, particularly the cut of the trousers, he looks so handsome.

Even Logan scrubs up well. He’s wearing a tux, neat, classy, very dark blue. It has a tie and cummerbund in a shiny blue fabric but it’s much more restrained than what most people are (or are not, in Bobby��s case) wearing.

Then there’s a rustle and a murmur through the crowd, she glances over at the new arrival causing the stir.

“Wow. That’s quite something.” Scott says quietly.

Kurt stands on the top of the steps, paused, caught framed in the doorway.

He’s wearing, well, she’s not quite sure what he’s wearing, except that it’s blue, and tight and sparkles like the night sky. It’s sort of a body suit? But there’s cut out sections, she’s not sure how it’s staying in place. It shows off his broad shoulders and slim hips. And then there’s the skirt... masses and masses of dark fabric, whisper thin but also stiff, floating behind him like a nebula of stars.

He looks... astonishing, stunning, fey, flamboyant, unique.

He’s still stood there and she catches the flash of uncertainty; Kurt is always so sure of himself, so centred and confident. Every eye is on him, and, ever the showman, he gathers up the skirt and gracefully starts down the steps.

He only gets a couple of feet and his right ankle wobbles slightly, he’s not used to heels, she thinks,

But a hand reaches out to steady him, and he takes it with his gloved one. Logan. They descend the rest of the steps together. The shiny blue of Logan’s cummerbund is the same fabric, she suddenly realises, the dark blue suit, the same shade as Kurt’s fur. Oh. Oh, my. She releases her breath with a sigh. Ororo, at her elbow leans in and murmurs. “Breathtaking, aren’t they?”

“Stunning.” She glances across. “You knew?”

Ororo smiles into her champagne, her eyes on the odd but striking couple making their way across the floor towards them. “I’ve always known. Now everyone else does too.”