The Veil Whisperer

Has the secret to upgrading a wedding’s trickiest accessory been in front of your eyes all along?

- By Mattie Kahn

Batman has the Batsuit; Wonder Woman has those cuffs. But Alison Miller doesn’t need superheroes to demon strate that costumes have transformative properties—she sees it at her atelier almost every day. Comic book characters have their uniforms; Miller’s brides have veils.

Since 2012 Miller has been designing couture veils through her New York–based label Monvieve. Produced in Italian mills, her pieces are made out of the finest French lace and Italian tulle as gossamer-thin and diaphanous as Kate Moss in 1993. Once upon a time Miller designed separates, but that company shuttered in 2008. Bridal accessories were a pivot, then a calling. Today she creates wedding veils, headpieces, and jeweled headbands, as well as one-off bespoke gowns for clients as far-flung as Dubai and Hong Kong.