a fashionelle: fashion illustration

Showing posts with label fashion illustration. Show all posts

5.16.2011

ok so it's not THAT bad...

my CAD class was a disaster. the software (kaledo) is the least intuitive program EVER, the teacher had her busiest semester in life, and the school computers couldn't handle the complicated software so it constantly shut down. thus, my creative endeavors were thwarted and i learned very little. luckily, i could use my trusty photoshop/illustrator combo to complete the final project with a little help from my flats rendered from tech drawing. [borrowing for the sake of time is ALWAYS ok when its from your own portfolio, right?] as mentioned back in february when i assembled the mood board, this is an intimates collection for anthropologie, drawing inspiration from beach/storms/miu miu. our CAD class was geared toward textile/print design, so all prints and plaids designed/altered by moi.

5.14.2011

and here's my excuse for absence....

finals at a prestigious fashion school are not the typical 1 week whirlwind of deadlines. finals are a month long event that consume all hours of the student's life, breeding a hoard of blistered-finger, unshowered, sleep-deprived hermits. the upside? there are things to show for it besides exam grades. (click to enlarge!)

my construction 2 final was based on the Egon Schiele collection posted previously. techniques/features included? twist, shirring, elastic waist/legs, hidden pockets, invisible zipper, bias lining. whew!!--much more exhausting that it appears. unfortunately, i lost my back view, but basically it looks the same, just add back-bodice darts, and tie the ends of the twist in a small bow/knot. fabric: silk/cotton voile.

fashion drawing 2 final consisted of two mini-collections. one commercial, and one more avant-garde. these drawings make more sense with the swatches included, but my teacher still has them for grading purposes. i re-drew these MULTIPLE times, but my over-achiever, people-pleasing self could not stop until my favorite teacher was happy. he wanted me to challenge myself by loosening up my line quality, so this is 'messier' than my usual work. i can dig it, but it will take some practice. oh--and my teacher STILL said i have a long way to go (notice the awkward far-right figure in both collections--haha!).... too bad class is over.

tech drawing final had to be a small collection using more complicated flat drawings, patterns, and various color fills. i misunderstood the due date and did 90% of this in one night---the first of many sleepless nights this past 10 days. my collection is another spin off of the Egon Schiele inspiration, but presented as pajamas/loungewear/lingerie.

i still have one more to go, but i'm not particularly excited about it, so it will not be shared. :) and my other two were a fashion history exam and a paper on sustainability applied to the magazine industry. maybe i'll post the 10 page paper, but i doubt anyone has the attention span to read it.

and now time for some well-overdue sleep. goodnight, loves!

4.12.2011

egon, meinen lieb!

translation: i heart egon schiele.

self portraits by schiele

i've been swamped, again. (so goes fashion school finals), but here's a brief on one of my favorite expressionist painters and a quick flashback to when i was a fine arts student... ah the good ol' days of oil painting, screen printing, and live figure drawing.

i am enrolled in a fashion history class that fuses art with fashion. PERFECT for me! and our final project? a presentation/paper on an inspiring artist with a mini-collection that fuses MY design with the ARTIST'S essence. first thing i've been legitimately happy with since fall semester finals:

[SCHIELE SLIDESHOW COMING SOON]

A pioneer of the Expressionist painters, Egon Schiele created grotesquely beautiful renditions of the figure. His stroke was both heavy and fluid, contrasting the realistic renderings of art prior. Curving around the shapes of the body, the line ceased to delicately depict a subject, rather becoming at least as important as the figure itself. Scheile’s understanding of the human figure allowed him to manipulate the traditional portrait into the ultimate expression of humanity.

Born in Tulln on the Danube, Austria, in 1890, Schiele was a child prodigy who sought the teaching of Gustav Klimt and attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Drawing inspiration from Art Nouveau and the Impressionism, Schiele produced twisted figures with underlying themes of existentialism, death, and sexuality. The images were disturbing as the poses were foreshortened and unnatural. The figures were frail, suffering from the hardships of the first World War. He gained notoriety for his expressive style, dominant artistic talent, but also his pornographic imagery and underage models. His erotic female nudes and barely-clothed figures depicted his wife, lovers, and coming-of-age girls summoned to his studio. For this, he received much criticism, opposition, and even an arrest with almost a month in jail.

Despite the controversy, Schiele managed to make a positive impression on early twentieth century art. In his short life of twenty-eight years, Schiele produced over 3,000 pieces of stunning expression. He and his wife both succumbed to the Spanish Influenza in 1918, making his large body of innovative work even more impressive. With so much emotion sealed into such a young body, his heavy themes may have been too much to have sustained beyond his prime.

My own work has largely been figurative since I picked up a pencil, but my hand has always been delicate, precise, and noticeably feminine. Through art school I was challenged by my professors, peers, and myself to make something “ugly”. This deemed a near impossible feat, so I compromised with a contrast of “ugly” subject matter depicted in a soft and “pretty” style. With this approach, I find Schiele to be a perfect source of inspiration. I have taken his grotesque and provocative and interpreted it as lovely and delicate without losing his essence. Many of his figures are shown in lingerie, so I also pulled elements of turn-of-the-century undergarments into my details and silhouettes. The raw expressive line would be created by wires inserted in the seams of the garments, and the sheer organdies and organzas would reveal not only the construction of the garment, but also the frail figure underneath. Asymmetry and heavy draping suggest undressing. Though inspired by such a tragic artist, my garments should make the wearer feel beautiful and sensual rather than tasteless and destitute.

mood board

my mini-collection

so there ya have it. dark and twisted becomes my delicate fantasy.... i think i'm making the 2nd one from the left for my construction final! yay for having a summer romper just in time for school to get out!

2.09.2011

delayed final

so my teacher stinks at timeliness. here's my final project that was JUST NOW RETURNED! from my fashion industry design course--entitled Dressed in the Dark.

Customer Profile/Line Info

Brand Name: ell.

Age Range: 22-32 years old, but mentally/emotionally suspended between childhood and adulthood.

Occupation: She is a young professional, working a 9-5 for wages to fund her valued free time adventures. She may be in advertising, copywriting, public relations, or architecture. She loves her job and dresses professionally, but the majority of her wardrobe consists of “play clothes” for adults that she sports after work and on the weekends.

Annual Income: $35K—$50K

Education/Institution/Degree: She graduated from the local state university with a bachelor of science in communication/advertising/marketing. She chose this school based on federal grants and in-state tuition so she could graduate without debt. She was involved with the school paper/radio, and she interned at a local television production studio. Education was an important accomplishment, but 4 years was plenty for her to begin her career.

Residence (type/location): Her single-floor, 1,200 sq foot, suburban house is a century old, slightly lacking in stability, but making up for it in charm. Decorated mostly in clean neutrals and muted pastels, her home is a soothing escape with whimsical flair, boasting abundant handmade accoutrements from the local market and vintage trinkets acquired via inheritance or thrifting.

Marital Status: She has been planning her wedding day since she received Dream Bride Barbie, but if she has not yet tied the knot, she’s not necessarily in a rush to do so. If she’s met her “Ken”, they are newlyweds just beginning co-inhabitance and compromises while still very much infatuated. If he hasn’t popped the question, or even come along yet, she’s a dreamer and patiently waiting for Handsome to ease his way into her simple life.

Spouse’s Occupation: If hubby exists, he is in civil/environmental engineering. His job pays him well enough to support a single-income family (but she works anyway). He works for the city, trying to make civil structures more sustainable, and environmentalism infiltrates his entire life—work, play, and home.

Children (ages): Since she still feels like a child, she has no children….yet.

Leisure Activities: She loves to go on a nightly bike ride with her husband after dinner. On the weekends, the couple travels to nearby nature reserves for hiking, swimming, climbing, or just skipping rocks. It’s not unusual for the couple to be spotted on the playground at the neighborhood park or throwing Frisbees into the river for their dog to swim-fetch. They are also avid indie-film movie-goers. Her long list of favorite activities is indicative of her sporadic and spontaneous personality. She thrives on unpredictability, risks, and the instantaneous.

Vacation/Travel: She saves 10% of every paycheck so she can look forward to her one week of paid vacation per year. She only travels to conferences for her job, which are held in larger cities throughout the US, so she chooses paradise and relaxation over sight-seeing adventure for her time off work. She finds the best paradise deal on travel websites and hops a plane to vitamin d, sea breeze, and exotic sights.

Favorite Designers: She loves environment-conscious Stella McCartney. Alexander Wang, Fendi (except for their furs), and Miu Miu are other favorites, but she looks to these designers for inspiration, only buying limited classic “must-haves” from higher-end brands.

Favorite Stores: She shops on a budget, but not for cheaply constructed garments, so she looks to J.Crew, Gap, Madewell, and Zara for her shopping fix, only stopping ever-so-rarely at Saks Fifth Avenue and Barney’s New York (only during trips to the City for the occasional Stella McCartney or Alexander Wang). She could window shop yuppy, semi-urban/urban boutiques for hours if given the freedom to do so.

Current Trends: Current trends that really capture her attention include sustainability, soft materials, sheers, simple lines, wearability/versatility, and simple palettes/dark--neutral tones.

Demographics

Age: 22-32

Gender: female

Income/Socioeconomic Status: single [$35K—$50K, middle class], combined [$70K--$120K, upper middle class]

Marital Status: single or newlywed, no kids

Ethnicity: not specified

Location: suburban America

Garment

Year/Season: Fall I/2011

Store to Sell: Stand-alone “Ell.” boutiques, select Bloomingdales. stores

Price Range: contemporary, $160—$300

illustration

flats

fabrics

2.01.2011

lost time

so i may have been lazy in my posting, but last night i submitted a wedding dress design to a contest sponsored by BRIDES magazine, so i haven't been completely worthless. winning is certainly a long shot, but i've adopted a new optimistic and aspirational mindset and i want to embrace every opportunity to create. here's my entry and description. let me know what you think! i love design feedback.

Finding inspiration in galleries of vintage and antique wedding dresses, i felt that every one of them belonged inside a glass display box at a high art museum. My bohemian dress applies the nostalgic, pre-loved quality of the ivory/antique cream color with cascading tiers of crinkly silk chiffon and grandma's crochet lace. A bow front adds a touch of modern romance, but both the loops and tails are artfully tied twice to wrap the bow from front to back. The free spirit of a woman in love is timeless, and not just reserved for the wildly romantic tales of your grandmother's youth.

and just look at what cute little diddy popped up after my submission! that illustration!! i die. couldn't resist sharing.

sourcing:

submission illustration--operationdreamdress.com

1.12.2011

lulu

in the winter of 2008, i accompanied my boyfriend (at the time) to his barbershop. since he insisted on just a walk-in, rather than an appointment, and it was obviously the fave hair-joint for the local seniors, i was tremendously bored and fervently reached for an outdated issue of W magazine. I had no idea that one, miniscule feature would change my creative future forever.

lulu at work

flipping through the pages, observing every detail as this was the most engrossing subject matter available, (much better than watching grey locks fall to the floor), i came across one of those pages that gives a quick review of interesting haps, publications, or people in recent culture--aka, my quick pop-history source. in the bottom right hand corner, almost cut off by the fold of the binding was a photo of the cover of a textile designer's soon-to-be-published book. it was beautiful and i had to know more.

the designer's name is lulu de kwiatkowski, a parsons school of design BFA (studio art) graduate (holla!), world traveler, textile + wallpaper + artist extraordinaire. splitting her childhood between the hamptons and the bahamas, she was constantly exposed to vibrant/earthy colors, patterns, and just interesting things. after her own textile company celebrated its 10th anniversary, it was deemed necessary that the world learn about the creative processes of the artist behind her wildly popular prints.

i received this book as a christmas gift in 2009 and refer to it on an addictively (i think i just made up this word) regular basis. you're about to see why.

snippit of the engaging cover

i feel like lulu's anonymous mentor-ee. she obviously loves yellow, red, pattern, handwriting, collaging, fauna, vintage, intricate drawing, and figures as much as i do. maybe we're secretly related or something. all of the above images i took with my camera from her book, as only a TINY sampling is available on amazon.com, excluding some of my favorites. The book, should you want to look it up, recommend it, or purchase it is entitled Lulu, published by Ammo Books, and is 192 full-color, giant-sized, incredible pages.

Now that you know her artistic side, here is the kind of product you can expect from her design company, called Lulu dK. these are all fabric prints, prints-in-progress, or print-promos. i sourced these images from her blog, trailofinspiration.com. i could have posted 90,000,000 more images, but not only would that start to look sketchy, it's a lot more fun to find it yourself!! go check out her blog, the lulu dk website, or best of all, her BOOK!

and i had to throw in this image of hand-painted owls/butterflies. she's just amazing. i want several of these little guys for my room :)

now if you'll excuse me, my paintbrushes are calling. have a colorful day.

photo sourcing:

i took all "black border" images of Lulu.

lulu working: 'me at work'

sailboats: 'lulu dk homepage'

yellow pattern: 'hand-painted fabric preview'

pastel dots pattern: 'petals petals everywhere'

floral pillows: 'did you know?'

color block fabric: 'voila!'

owls: 'thank you'

1.04.2011

mm'mmm juicy!

i've been a little discouraged lately, fearing that my talents only lie in rendering and that my design/construction skills are so weak that i will become "just" an illustrator. until i came across some of erin fetherston's sketches while procrastinating during finals week. her drawing style is beeeeeeeaaautiful!! each figure is simply, femininely perfect. The young designer is so talented, she has revived the name of juicy couture, as her latest design position with the brand has earned much accolade. I find this especially exciting as i had loooooong tired of the "juicy" butts on college campuses and the acceptance of terry cloth as casual wear. these are my favorites of her fresh designs and too-cute figures:

her croquis are just sooooo pretty!! wonder where she gets her inspiration....? no, for real though, i find it an incredible expression of confidence to use yourself as a model. i've done it a couple times and felt extremely vain and/or insecure, but fetherston makes it something for which developing designers should mimic or aspire. adorbs.