New Exhibition, NY: 'Fashion Illustration: A Contemporary Look'

Fashion Illustration: A Contemporary Look

September 6 – December 1, 2012

Brooklyn Public Library  |  Central and Brooklyn Heights

To coincide with New York Fashion Week SS13, Fashion Illustration: A Contemporary Look will be the largest American showcase of established fashion illustrators in over a decade.
The exhibition aims to bring awareness to the art form, its history, and to showcase its practical applications. On display will be work commissioned and intended for editorial and marketing purposes.  Viewers will have a rare behind the scenes look at the inspiration and creative process that goes into big budget advertising campaigns.

Also neatly coinciding with the release of Antonio Lopez: Fashion, Art, Sex and Disco, never-before-seen images from Lopez will also be on display, including (unreleased) photos and videos taken by Antonio of friends, models, and colleagues Jerry Hall, Grace Coddington, Pat Cleveland, Grace Jones, and Karl Lagerfeld.

It's a shame that living in the UK, I'm not going to be able to make it there myself, and urge anyone in the U.S with an interest in fashion illustration to go see this. Viewing the original works of others is important to an illustrator. Not only does it give you a better insight into the illustrator's methods and techniques, but it's also interesting to see what original pieces look like before going through any retouching. When viewing the work of Rene Gruau for example, it's fun to spot where corrections have been made and what has been altered or tidied when used for reproduction. Something fascinating but also reassuring to illustrators like myself.

Featured artists:

Richard Haines

Autumn Whitehurst

Sarah Singh

Anja Kroencke

Carlos Aponte

Samantha Hahn

Marcos Chin

Jennifer Lilya

Elaine Pedler

Izak Zenou

Don Oehl

This select group of established illustrators have been featured in major publications including Vogue, Elle, InStyle, WWD and Daily Candy for brands and retailers such as, Chanel, Givenchy, Tiffany, Ray Ban, L’Oreal, Victoria’s Secret, Sephora, and Henri Bendel. A great line up that spans illustrative styles significantly. Autumn Whitehurst's digital renderings for examples are in sharp contrast to the energetic sketches of Richard Haines. Examples are included below.

Don Oehl

Autumn Whitehurst

Richard Haines

Sarah Singh

Jennifer Lilya

Special Events include:
       Panel Discussions
       Fashion Film Series
       FREE Fashion Illustration Classes
       Live Demo with Fashion Illustrator Bil Donovan
       Author Events:

Fashion Illustration by Fashion Designers by Laird Borrelli

Antonio Lopez: Fashion, Art, Sex, & Disco by Roger Padilha & Mauricio Padilha

20th-Century Fashion Illustration: The Feminine Ideal by Rosemary Torre

The Opening Reception is at the Brooklyn Public Library, Central Branch on September 6th, 2012 at 6 p.m.  For more info Join their group on Facebook.