Fashion illustration appears to be making a comeback in the fashion circle. So far, 2020 has been giving an increasing amount of recognition to the much-loved art form. Will this medium become the new image making go-to?
On the 20th February (just two days after the end of Fashion Week) the first-ever fashion illustration drawing awards were held in London at the Blake’s Hotel. The Fida Awards celebrated the beauty of fashion illustration. Image makers from all over the world could submit their work to three categories with the chance of meeting and illustrating selected models by Fida, the artwork created then will be displayed and sold at Blake’s Hotel (90% of the profits going the winner and 10% going to the cancer charity VHL UK/Ireland) as well as £1000 prize money. RCA graduate Patrick Morgan chairs Fida- he has worked for luxury fashion brands (Dior, Tom Ford, YSL) and art galleries such as the V&A and the Tate Modern. Judges included artists such as Ignasi Monreal, who notably captured Michele’s Gucci in SS18 with renaissance inspired illustrations complemented with depictions of the modern, young, vibrant Gucci customer. New York based illustrator Dena Cooper won the Commercial Award, Roxy Van Bemmel received the Experimental award and finally, the Documentary Award was given to Jessica Bird.
So why are we seeing this need to award fashion illustration? A pivotal fashion moment in recent memory surrounding fashion illustration occurred in July 2019, with Daniel Roseberry’s debut at Schiaparelli. What was undeniably intriguing, was the spectacle of Roseberry live drawing the models as they strutted past him on the runway. This gave recognition to the fact that fashion begins with illustrations and that should be celebrated.
Now, of course, Roseberry doing some sketches isn’t the sole catalyst for this surge in appreciation for fashion illustration. If we consider some of the biggest values and issues today, obviously the word on everyone’s lips is sustainability. Vogue Italia’s Emanuele Farneti proposed that using illustrators is a greener approach to image-making and announced in an editor’s letter on the 2nd January that the January 2020 issue will not include photoshoots, and will have eight different illustrated covers. In his letter, Farneti admits that ‘One hundred and fifty people involved. About twenty flights, about ten trains. Forty machines available. Sixty international expeditions. At least ten hours of lights on continuously, partly powered by gasoline generators. Food waste from catering. Plastic to wrap clothes. Power to charge phones, cameras…’ were just a few of the stats into creating their September issue. He implies that the use of illustrators will save enough money to donate to the Querini Stampalia Foundation, ‘a place in Venice that remains open for students at night when the city turns off its lights. It is a place of art, of silence and of shelter’ states Farneti who wishes to aid its reconstruction after being damaged by high water. The editor boasts that never in Vogue history has there ever been several illustrated covers for a single issue and also announces in the letter that they will only be using compostable plastic to wrap the magazine, ‘an additional, relevant but necessary cost’ meaning out of Conde Nast’s international publications, Vogue Italia will be one of the first to do so.
Only time will tell if illustrations are the answer to some of fashion’s environmental challenges. Regardless, in our digital age that is overwhelmingly in favour of photography and digital editing, seeing illustration being reintroduced into publications is refreshing, exciting and personal. When talking to Fida winner Jessica Bird she suggested that publications are gravitating towards illustration again to ‘interact with the customer because we’re all so used to digital imagery and our attention spans are so short from Instagram, so it’s quite nice to see something organic’.
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