Tony Viramontes - Bold, Beautiful And Damned

The first time I saw the work of Tony Viramontes, I was flicking through the book 'Fashion Illustration Today' (Nicholas Drake, 1987) in my college years. Initially finding it a rather dated looking title as a young student, it had my friend at the time scoffing at it's distinctly 80s vibe. Despite her completely failing to see the appeal, it still holds up today in showcasing work from the most influential illustrators of that era, a lot of whom are still working today.

Page from Fashion Illustration Today - Nicholas Drake

It was his studies of Cyril Brule, a male model (now the founder of Viva Model Management) that drew me in initially, admittedly for their sexual virility. A broad topless male model, strong upward hair, pouting, square jaw, hidden behind shades, nipples fully realized. It came across as the idealistic 80s fashion pin up, an almost Dolph Lungren-esque character in high braces and voluminous 80s pinstripe Versace trousers. In essence, it was this energetic feel to his work that encapsulated his entire visual language. Rarely do any of his works have a composed or poised feel to them. Everyone is in motion or dramatic stance, they have harsh make up, contorted faces, bold looks, big shoulders. His work was completely definitive of the 80s, and this strength reflects in the fact that the book has since been reissued with Tony's work on the cover, and extra works added.

Whilst that image stayed in my mind over time, the work of others such as Thierry Perez and George Stavrinos took over my attention for a while at university, and it wasn't until a later date that I fully began to understand the integrity and importance of his work, rediscovering it in different paths and places, and researching into the Buffalo period / Ray Petri era of The Face magazine, that the dots started to join up. His vibrant mix of photography and lines and colour signified that this was the work of someone who wasn't just utilizing one medium to express his vision, and had he had lived on longer, would clearly have gone on to accomplish greater heights.

With a foreword by none other than Jean Paul Gaultier, a self-confessed fan, this book addresses Tony's range of work in one dedicated publication for the first time. Not just a member of the Buffalo period and the odd cd cover as I knew him to be from my vague research (I say odd, it doesn't get much bigger than producing the iconic album artwork for Janet Jackson - Control) Tony produced a vast amount of work that over time had been placed in the hands of collectors, archived at fashion houses, or shipped back to his family home in Los Angeles, later to be uncovered by Dean Rhys Morgan, the author, and brought back to public consciousness with this title. The book's largest chapter (72 pages) focuses solely on his portrayal of the designs of high fashion's key players. Sprouse, Montana, Mugler, Yves Saint Laurent and Valentino, amongst others, all seen through his glorious vision. Other chapters focus on his portrayal of his male and female muses, including a very young Janice Dickinson, Rene Russo, Isabella Rosellini and Paloma Picasso.

For an illustrator like myself, the main draw in looking at Tony's work is simply the raw energy that continues to inspire, regardless of it's era defining imagery and fashions. For a fan born in a generation that was not around at the time of his work, and did not have any real major access to discovering it further beyond the realm of internet postings and old copies of The Face, this book is a dream. It's a joy to see his illustrations up close in full print, and all the behind the scenes polaroids, sketches and interviews that accompany. If anyone is to research the history of fashion illustrators, to neglect the work of Tony Viramontes would be an absolute crime.

For previous posts on Tony Viramontes, click here

Bold, Beautiful And Damned: 10 Corso Como

The first retrospective exhibition of work by Tony Viramontes for almost 25 years. The exhibition will travel to Los Angeles in November, China in December and finally Paris in February 2014.

Via the Tony Viramontes facebook fan page. Click to enlarge.

Tony Viramontes illustrates Claude Montana

If you're a fan of Viramontes, then make sure you join the facebook fan page, which continually updates with new unseen archive illustrations and exclusive information regarding the new upcoming book on his work.

Here are three studies that were posted recently which I felt compelled to share. They reflect perfectly Viramontes' energetic style while avoiding colour and materials that usually associate him with the 80s / 90s time period he is so reflective of. Claude Montana himself confirmed that these were indeed studies of his works.

Tony Viramontes

"I look for new ideas because I always want to be in a state of creative anxiety and insecurity. If I feel sure of myself I cannot be creative."

It’s hard to write anything original about Viramontes when there are hundreds of articles out there documenting his incredible and tragically short career. His electric and energetic illustrations remain a great influence to all fashion illustrators in terms of both technique and style. I have however managed to scan some old copies of ‘fashion illustration’ and the revised edition, ‘fashion illustration today’ by Nicholas Drake which was released when Viramontes was still alive, which contains some illustrations that I haven’t seen elsewhere online.
Viramontes was more than just an illustrator, and he disliked being referred to as one. He would also work with photography and mixed the two mediums together, creating striking new wave images that would go on to gain iconic status. His work for The Face (particularly my favourite) worked closely with Ray Petri, Barry Kamen and Mitzi Lorenz and helped define the Buffalo style period of the 80s, the period that The Face was considered to be at it’s peak. Unfortunately, his career was cut short when he tragically died in 1988 of Aids, aged just 28. It’s saddening to think just how much more he would have accomplished had he lived on.
The facts:
Born in Los Angeles in 1960. After travelling extensively was based in New York - studying photography and fine arts.
A trip to Paris saw him work for major houses like Valentino, Claude Montana and Yves Saint Laurent, Valentino, Versace, Chanel, Perry Ellis and Rochas cosmetics.
His style was fast and electric, and he would work through dozens of quickly drawn illustrations to capture the right one. He completely wiped the floor with the illustrators at the time who were favoured for working in a softer pastel style.
His sketches caught Anna Piaggi's attention - he worked for Vogue Italia, Harpers Bazaar, Lei in Italy, Vogue USA, The Face, Marie Claire and Le Monde in France.
He listed among his influences Man Ray, Jean Cocteau, Degas, Matisse, Egon Schiele, Picasso, Fellini and Tom of Finland.
Goldy - the latest Italian version of Fiorucci - and Hanae Mori, the Japanese couturiere, asked him to take on the artistic direction of their companies, from the decoration of their boutiques to the design of their collections.
"It is extremes and contrasts that inspire me - an enormous lady in the street leading a tiny dog on a leash, for example. It is essential to capture the image, not a detail, not a garment or an expression, but an impression. Of the hundreds of sketches I might make for one drawing, it is almost always the first drawing which states the essential.”












More after the jump . . .

Masters of Illustration by David Downton: A Review

I'm pretty sure this is the first solid book review I've actually posted on here or on my own blog. I always mention books and artists of desire but with no full feature. basically, Downton's new book which I recently received, is truly an important book to any fashion illustrator, more so than any other book I've came across, and needs a solid review to reflect this.

As soon as you see Downton's new book, you know it isn’t going to be another forgettable compilation book of contemporary illustrators. The design of the book alone is worthy of pointing out, connoting the historic beauty and elegant styles of the illustrators and artists featured, alongside a fantastic portfolio of David’s own work.


It's obvious that he has clearly put his all his time and effort into this, the passion for the artists shines through every paragraph and image, and although he admits in the interview that the selection of artists was slightly self-indulgent, in my eyes it works better than simply showing a selection of illustrators that would people-please on a broad term, and instead keeps things direct and interesting.
The curation of artists itself is fantastic. There was a bit of debate over the fact that Downton left out Gruau, which is understandable given his significance. However the book draws your attention to artists or illustrators of equal influence but possibly less exposure, and there are already enough books and references to the work of Gruau to justify his absence. The book chronologically ranges from Boldini and Leyendecker (he of the iconic Coca Cola ads), through the gazette artists who influenced the likes of Gruau and Bernard Blossac in the mid century, right through to Lopez And Viramontes.






What was actually surprising, was how interesting it was to read about artists and illustrators past. I’ll admit that when it comes to more historic artists, I’ll usually skip the information about their career and focus on their work. Downton manages to place the context perfectly within the focus of the works, and as such nothing feels ‘dated’ when viewing.
With David’s obvious interest in the pursuit of a career in illustration, and the likeliness that a significant amount of readership will also be interested in an illustrative career, the text manages to keep informative and exciting without ever becoming dense about the artists’ techniques. It’s beautifully illustrated throughout, and draws focus to the individual talents and styles of each artist, and made me reconsider the work and focus of something that I would have originally overlooked.


Also, the sheer amount of previously unseen and rare work makes this an absolute gem to behold. If you even serve a remote interest in the likes of Downton / Gruau / fashion illustration as a whole, or even more contemporary illustrators, this book is incomparable for a great learning experience and eye opener, and will no doubt provide inspiration on some level.


To see a video feature from the launch party of David’s book, click HERE.