Edith Head

Being the woman with the most Academy Awards to her name, Edith Head deserves a bit of attention.   (And no, her google headline today isn’t enough) Along with her long coveted and prized series of books which describe the best way to dress for certain occasion (such as how to dress for your man, for your job, for your cocktail party, etc), she is one of the most celebrated costume /fashion designers – so much so, that she was the key (if not only) inspiration for The Incredibles Edna Mode (which, in my opinion, is the most flattering accomplishment a person can get…)

 

She worked closely with such stars as Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor as well as a favorite of Alfred Hitchcock.

  

 

As if her bangs weren’t enough to let us know she was legit.

Erte

Romain de Tirtoff

Roman de Tirtoff was his real name, but the name Erte was used as a pseudonym of the pronunciation of his initials ( “R/T”), apparently used initially because his father was embarrassed by his son’s pursuit of art instead of a naval officer. Maybe he would have thought differently had he known how incredibly successful his son would be…!

Living in Paris in the same time as Aubrey Beardsley, Erte was given many commissions quickly. He was prolific,  mainly because of his incredible popularity. He was asked to do simply everything, and flourished at every task he was asked to do. Starting off doing illustrations, then moving to set designs and costume designs (for both movies and stage) and much later in his career jewelry. He was sometimes overshadowed by Alphonse Mucha, though they only really overlapped in jewelry later on (Erte didn’t care much for poster design, and their theater involvement took very different paths), but I think they fed off each other quite nicely.

Enjoy this exquisite imagery from all of his fields -from  full illustrations, costume designs to jewelry.

 

 

A google search will give you better results than “his” page: http://www.erte.com/

Tex Saverio

So, the only thing I could find about about Tex Saverio is that he hails from Jakarta, Indonesia, and has incredibly little information about himself on the internet. Perhaps because I am not a) in most fashion circles and b) not incredibly patient when it comes to in-depth research (I can scan about 10 Google search pages before I give up all hope), I cannot find any information about him. Even his website only holds 1 cryptic image on it, with an email address for inquiries. (And, since I am not looking to buy anything, I doubt I’d get a reply for an interview, but I will still try!)

Anyways, his work more than speaks for itself. It reminds me of Alexander McQueen a bit, but with his own unique twist to the dark, fictitious world McQueen became famous for, though I must say his wedding dresses are absolutely lovely as well. I look forward to seeing more from future collections.

I couldn’t choose only a few to post – do your own google search and find some inspiration!

 

http://comingsoon.texsaverio.com/

 

Cecilia Carlstedt

Cecilia is a Swedish illustrator currently working in New York. She has had numerous big-name  fashion clientele, which comes as no surprise with her beautiful stylization of women.

I always like to see tight, rendered graphite drawings combined with super flat graphic shapes. Carlstedt does this really well, composing her images in such a intuitive way that it makes all the chaos into sense. Also, knowing when to stop  is a problem most illustrators / fine artists struggle with, and Carlstedt resolves this well. Her work is also one of the most consistent artists’s I’ve seen in this style, which is reassuring! Highly recommend her website below, it is just chuck-full of drool-worthy imagery.

 

http://www.ceciliacarlstedt.com/

Adam Lowe

 

 

Adam Lowe works as a  fashion illustrator out of London, UK. His work definitely has that moody fashion feel, where everyone looks so unimpressed by the amazing looks they are sporting. (“Oh, this old thing? Why are you looking at me like I am gorgeous?”) But his watercolors against the impressive graphite line work melds perfectly to express his interest in the field. The expressions are spot-on, engaging the viewer immediately and wrapping them around the composition with the negative spaces combined with great design.

http://www.behance.net/adamlowe (his “official” website seems to be permanently down…. 😦 )

Tony Viramontes

Tony was one of the world’s most  aspiring fashion illustrator’s, until his untimely demise at the age of 28 in 1988.  His work is greatly influenced by Picasso, Manet, Matisse and Egon Schiele.

Fashion illustration always interests me because it IS illustration, but with such vast differences in priorities it almost becomes a whole new art in itself. Most illustrators cannot do great fashion illustrations (though almost every one of them will insist they can), and most fashion illustrators could not make it in the standard illustration business. I think fashion illustration is pure aesthetics – everything is idealized and graceful, selling you beauty even if not in an advertisement directly. It is from these illustrations, way back in the “golden age” of illustration where advertisements were only drawn and not photographed (and even preferred over photographs), where the two fields began to split – but to say one has not influenced the other is just ignorance.

Anyways, take a look at this art.

No website, but Google has a few more images, though sadly, most are far too small for good viewing 😦

Popovy Sisters

So, I guess there has been this doll craze going around for awhile – something I never really understood having never really played with dolls as a kid (Barbies aside….).  But I was recently introduced to this team of twin sisters, Ekaterina and Elena Popovy, whose work transcends mere dollmaking. These are wonderful designs full of thought and craftsmanship. There are very few artists whose work I really scour through on their webpage, and still want to see more. These are all handmade, and the sisters hail from Russia.

 

 

http://popovy-dolls.com/

 

(In the corner, for those less internet savvy, is where you can select English. Unless you speak Russian.)

Francois Berthoud

Groovy, sexy ladies.  Francois is a European artist who works for the fashion industry, one of the most sought after fashion illustrator. Who wants to take a few guesses at to why?

 

http://www.francoisberthoud.com/

Alexander McQueen

So, I guess I was just never into fashion. I always figured it was nothing but figuring out how to make skinny people look skinnier. It was never even anything moral on my part, I don’t have anything really against fashion, just it was never my cup of tea.  But, in my life, I always loved costumes. I loved designing how characters looked and creating uniforms people would wear in made-up worlds.  For awhile, I wanted to go into costume design. So, how I thought NONE of that had anything to do with fashion, I don’t know.

I was recently introduced to Alexander McQueen, and man, am I upset I didn’t see this sooner. (And also, that I will never see more as he tragically committed suicide last year) What a genius! Each one of these is straight out of the future, and at times exactly as my imagination wants to see things. Sometimes, his designs are more “traditional”, but don’t worry, they certainly can get crazy as well. Take a look at a few examples below, and try to convince me these aren’t exactly what you want to see at this very moment.

Though his official site provides very little information on his exhibits visually, a simple google search will give you ridiculous amounts of inspiration…..