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84989In my attempt to find inspirations for a huge dateline, I went to see the latest exhibition at The Society of Illustrators last week. The Line of Fashion” was a visual exhibition to pay tribute to sketching, drawing, mixed media collages, and color rendering, serving as the main staples of fashion. Long before photography was commonly used in books and magazines, illustrations were the only media for visualization. Even today, as computer and design programs are accessible, there are still many designers who prefer to sketch and hand draw their whole fashion line. Hand drawing adds a nice touch, depth and character to any designs. It is actually important for a designer to know how to hand sketch, on top of his own ability to design using any computer -aided programs. Joe Eula lended a hand to sketch every single look of Halston‘s first runway show because he couldn’t afford a Polaroid. Photography could be duplicated, retouched and look outdated, whereas lines and hand sketching would remain timeless and personified. (above photo: Untitled, Illustration by Alvaro, image courtesy of society of illustrators and dazeddigital.com)


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Joe Eula’s sketches of Halston’s first runway show, image courtesy of society of illustrators and style.com

Not until 1932 that Vogue started to use photography in their magazine cover, and illustrations started to be moved into their inside pages. “Beginning in 1963 photography increasingly took the place of fashion illustration. If you have an acceptable photograph and an acceptable illustration, then a good illustration will always outweigh a good photograph”, said  Rene Gruau – whose iconic sketches from the forties to the eighties graced the pages of Flair, Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. 

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Evening Catwalk, Illustration by Bil Donovan, collage of cut paper, cover of Italian WWD. (1988) image courtesy of society of illustrators and dazeddigital.com

The free exhibition mainly featured fashion illustrations especially from the forties and fifties during their glorious days, and also some recent works of today’s illustrators, all focusing on illustration as a tool to communicate fashion. As quoted from the Cut, ”Because when you’re looking for inspiration and all else fails, you can always go back to the drawing board.”

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J’Adore Coco, Illustration by Steven Broadway, gouache and pencil. (2009) image courtesy of society of illustrators, and dazeddigital.com

 

Below are some additional photos from the exhibition


The Line of Fashion at Society of Illustrators, New York,  April 1- May 2nd 2009

Click here to view more images from the exhibition

Sources and images courtesy of societyofillustrators.org, dazeddigital.com, nymag.com, style.com, 100 years of fashion illustrations


6 Comments to “In The Line of Fashion”

  1. pencil_skirt says:

    walopun bukan bermajor fashion, tp memang fashion illustrasi asik banget untuk disimak. yang J’adore is very adorable. my fav fashion illustrator is David Downton. :)

  2. Faraway says:

    Oh, i love art!
    Keren banget ini! Kapan ya ada pameran ini di Indonesia? Hiks..pengen

  3. Ragil says:

    Halston was lucky he couldn’t afford a polaroid. These illustrations look even better!! Timeless and every illustration is such a piece of art!!

  4. JURIS..!!! says:

    jadi inget artikel d majalah fashion Pro feb
    fashion iliustrasi yang scetch dengan tangan emang mulai ditinggalkan , but trully it’s ART
    all of us can see above
    those are georgeus
    keren !!!
    dan yang ini neh keren

  5. DYS says:

    pencil_skirt: wahh sama.. major gw dulu jg beda bkn fashion, tp krn demen jadi yah suka merhatiin..smua yg visual arts selalu suka esp yg berbau2 fashion :D

    faraway: wah bs tuh dikumpulin aja, pr designers2 lokal memamerkan sketsa nya..atau gak student exhibition misalnya para anak2 esmod dgn sketsa2x nya..pasti seru juga*moga2 ada yg baca dan bisa mengorganisir :) *

    Ragil & Juris: ditto !!

  6. JURIS..!!! says:

    iya setuju banget
    bisa tuh dipamerin
    pasti mantabs

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