1. What motivated you to enter?
I’ve been a fan of Greg and the Luann comic strip for many years. Being an incurable romantic, the Brad & Toni story arc really struck a chord with me. I felt a special connection to Toni and the kind of wedding dress she’d like to have. Although I’ve never designed women’s clothing, I wanted to give her this as a wedding present.
2. Tell us a little about the inspiration for your design.
Toni is both traditional and adventurous, and she has a marvelous figure, so I went with a fish tail design that hugs her curves but flairs out dramatically at mid-thigh and gives her very feminine swish as she walks. The simple fabric belt emphasizes her waist without breaking the line of the dress. The ribbons instead of a traditional veil plays to her adventurous side. The matching ribbons, bouquet and corsage subtly draw the eye to her face, waist, and hips.
3. Tell us something interesting about yourself – occupation, aspirations, etc.
I’m a computer scientist by training, but my wife and I are hobbyist costumers and enjoy creating and wearing both sci-fi/fantasy and historical costumes. I also edit The Virtual Costumer, a quarterly online costuming magazine, published by a chapter of the International Costumers’ Guild. Most costumers recreate existing designs from movies, TV, or history, so the chance to do an original design was very exciting and a little intimidating. My first reaction to Greg’s interpretation was pretty much like Brad’s: WOW!