Flipping through fashion magazines and brand catalogs, we’re used to seeing eye-catching photos of perfect models in designer clothes and accessories. But how did fashionistas learn about clothing trends before the invention and popularization of cameras? What did magazines publish on their pages? The “ancestor” of photography was the fashion illustration, which is able to effectively broadcast the latest trends and sell fashion industry products. Today, drawn pictures are back and popular again.
What fashion illustration is, the world learned about 500 years ago. In the 16th century artists drew court ladies and gentlemen in fashionable outfits, and at the end of the century a book with pictures of clothes and sewing instructions was published. The first fashion illustrator is generally considered to be the artist Vaclav Hollar, who lived and worked in London from the 1640s. He was a real workaholic and created about 3,000 etching prints on a wide range of subjects, from landscapes to drawings of women’s attire. In 1679, the Mercure Galant magazine was first published in Lyon, pioneering the world of fashion glossy. The publication contained drawings by legendary artists Pierre Bonnarom, Abraham Bossom and many others.
The active development of fashion illustration fell at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. At that time magazines were universally popular, fashionistas around the world eagerly awaited the release of new issues. This in turn fostered the emergence of great illustrators who became the link between fashion and people.
Artists Charles Dana Gibson and Giovanni Boldini worked in the late nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries, it was they who largely influenced the formation of the very concept of female beauty, depicting models in exquisite outfits and with a slender figure. Gibson deserves special attention, as he created his heroines a special image, which tried to imitate real women. In fact, “Gibson Girls” were the first painted style icons! Fashion illustrators Paul Iribe, Georges Barbier, Georges Lepape, Herthe, Kenneth Paul Block and many others also made special contributions to the genre.
Since the 1930s Vogue began to publish photographs on its covers, which had a detrimental effect on fashion illustration. In 1960 the trend “gave up” its positions and gave way to photography, but it never disappeared and continued to develop.
The emergence of web versions of magazines, fashion blogs and social networks brought the fashion illustration genre to life. The thing is that photos limit a person’s imagination and do not allow to finalize the image on their own, because the viewer sees a whole picture with an ideal model.
Brands of clothing and accessories are increasingly turning to illustrators for help, they use their drawings for prints, as well as patterns for fabrics. Many brands favor painted banners and posters to attract the attention of customers in branded stores.
Fashion magazines and designers “fell in love” with illustrations to create advertising campaigns, which is quite natural, because drawings allow the buyer to show their imagination and try on the created image, to think of a story, which is not always possible when using photos with models.
Popular bloggers writing about the fashion industry have also turned to illustrations. They create pictures reflecting future trends, plus they accompany their bows with drawn copies. Many of them are noticed by famous magazines or fashion houses, offering to collaborate. This is how Fifi Lapin, a cartoon bunny, became an entire brand.
Social networks are hungry for content, and “warm”, the fact is that users were fed up with direct advertising of a product, which does not cause a strong emotional response and blocks the imagination. Illustrations also allow you to avoid trolling and negative comments, users have no reason to vent their discontent about the “photoshopped” models and their figures.
Contemporary illustrators are reviving fashion illustration, drawing on the rich history of fashion illustration. They work in a variety of techniques, from watercolor to acrylic, while masterfully combining drawing by hand with computer technology.
Fashion-artists make sketches on the fashion shows (not a single Fashion Week can do without them), transfer street style on paper, draw bows, create patterns for fabrics, assist clothing designers in creating collections. They work on illustrations for fashion magazines, books, movies, commercials, websites, and social media, and collaborate with clothing, cosmetics, accessories, and luxury goods brands, advertising agencies, publishing houses, and design offices.
Illustrators must sketch quickly by hand, be able to work with professional programs (Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, etc.), meet deadlines, and most importantly have a recognizable individual style and an inexhaustible source of inspiration.