ANTONIO LOPEZ

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Well, this week discussion is about a fashion's premier illustrator who touched sixties New York, rocked seventies Paris and his reverberations are still being felt in the Runways today! He was Antonio Lopez!

When he was young, Antonio Lopez's mother, a seamstress, would ask him to draw flowers for her embroideries. He helped his father, a mannequin maker, to apply make-up and stitch the wigs on the figures. At first, he thought he would become a dancer, and in fact, at the age of 12, he was awarded a scholarship to the Traphagen School of Fashion, which provided Saturday programs for children, particularly inner-city youth. Then in junior high school, he was encouraged by his art teacher to attend the High School of Art and Design, part of the New York City school system. Upon graduation, he was accepted to the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), where three teachers - Beatrice Dwan, Frances Neady, and Ana Ishikawa - supported him in his efforts to embark on a career in fashion illustration.

In the early 1960s, Lopes began to free-lance for fashion magazines such as Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and Andy Warhol's Interview. He introduced himself to couturier Charles James and the meeting between the young artist and older master produced an illustrated record of all the clothes James had ever designed. James taught Lopez to appreciate the sculptural quality of clothes, a perspective that had a lasting effect on his drawings.

Lopez worked in a variety of materials, including pencil, pen and ink, charcoal, water-colour, and Polaroid film, and also pursued jewellery design, conceptual designs (such as window displays for Fiorucci and Studio 54), graphic collaboration on Interview, he was in demand around the world.

But unfortunately, Lopez died of complications related to AIDS on March 17, 1987, when he was forty-four years old.

Here are his works!

It's an outre undertow which referred to pop art. This is not just a usual or simple dress but it was a state of mind by playing with the pattern and colours of the dress.

Lopez's campaigns for Missoni endure as one of the greatest artist/designer collaborations. It is from a campaign launched at the same time as the 1984 Olympics. At this time, Lopez was already ill. It was a rare thing in the annals of fashion illustration because he always sketch in black and white before making the finishing picture, like doing a Polaroid, but not this time. 

It's mature style is familiar through the posture of the bodice and the pattern of itself that bring out the edge in its Swinging Sixties imagery, more New York underbelly than London dolly bird

       Antonio, Karl and Pat Cleveland in Paris, 1970

LUCIEN LELONG

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This week, it is all about Lucien Lelong, a fashion designer and he also has a line of his perfumes!

Lucien Lelong trained at the hates Etudes de Commerce in Paris. He opened his own fashion Salon in 1918 at the end of world war I. He developed the talents of up and coming Designers, such as Pierre Balmain, Christian Dior and Hubert de Givency. For nearly 30 years, the House of Lucein Lelong epitomised Parisian elegance, with a clientele drawn from International Society and the Arts. He was well known for his beautiful fabrics and understated dresses and evening wear.

Back to Paris, in the late 1930s, he designed tight waisted full skirted dresses reminiscent of "The New Look" of Dior.

Lucien Lelong was the last in a long line of Courturiers who were Masters of every aspect of Haute Courture, combining a keen business sense with a refined eye for modern design. One of the greatest talents of the fashion industry of this period.

1932 - Lucien Lelong in his perfume advert

A Dress Fitting drawn by the Artist :  Carl Ericksen

1937 - These smart dresses are for day wear

As economic hard times required more customer's and so this lead to Lucien Lelong launching to the label Robes d'Edition. This line of high quality pre manufactured clothing required just one fitting and was far less expensive than his coveted Haute Courture line.

1942 - Another design was a gathered section in the front of the dress which was used to give a soft effect mainly used in the front of the style. The original French text reads : - Robe d'apres midi. Simple et elegant en linage noir. Effect de drape du corsage et a la dupe devant. Which means : "Evening dress. Simple and elegant in black fabric. Effect of the bodice and draped dupe ahead."

1944 - This beautiful gown has a fabulous scooped neck-line and a fitted bodice. the sleeves are rushed narrowing to the cuff. Ending with a magnificent full skirt using lots of patterned or textured material.

A high wasted robe with a white decorated layered fabric panel, falling over a pale blue long skirt. It has a detailed bodice with elbow length lace edged sleeves.

RENE GRUARU

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Last week, my blog was all about David Downton who worked on wide varieties of projects (freelance illustrators) then became a famous-well known illustrator afterwards. And this week, it will be a fashion illustrator artist among poster artists.

Let's check it out!

Among poster artists, only a few had a career as long and prolific as rene Gruau's. He began his career  from the 1920s to the year of his death in 2004 and he never ceased to draw and work, leaving an oeuvre of ''chic'' posters encompassing the best of the old world's fashion style. He was well known because of his mother introduction. She introduced him to painters and fashion magazine editors who encouraged him to pursue his craft, afterwards, he already had a promising career as a fashion illustrator awaiting him at 15.

Grau was a man of the world and of many skills : an illustrator and a poster artist, he also sold paintings, designed costumes and stage sets, and even created his own collection of clothing in 1948-49. His art is a timeless expression of style, elegance and sophistication. And he is rightly acclaimed as the greatest fashion artist of the last century, his name synonymous with the story of high fashion, and particularly the story of parisian creativity through the second half of the 20th century - the glory years of haute Courture and its related world of luxury.

He worked with the most brilliant fashion designers such as Dior, Givenchy and Lanvin; high class music-halls such as Moulin Rouge and the Lido; and the great magazines, among them Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Flair, and Elle.

Here are his works!

Rene Gruau was a close friend of Christian Dior and his illustrations for Dior perfumes and haute Courture dresses capture the elegance of this famous fashion house. And as for the poster's design itself, he used the general three colors : black, white, and red, which defined Gruau's style (his use of colours). He used to use black and white in his debut drawing for newspaper and magazines ( drawing in black - using the white of the paper as a colour). Then he added red, which is the colour our eye perceives the most rapidly, an undeniable advantage for advertisement.

La ligne is the one brush stroke that defines an image, gives it its movement, its structure, and style. In Rouge Baiser for example, it's the delicate profile of the woman : one single line encapsulating all the felinity and refinement of a red lipstick.

By using high angles, low angels and negative space, he created images that naturally attracted the eye. Let's put an example like for Ortalion stockings, he draws a beautiful woman, looking down at the viewer from almost outside of the poster, playful daring him to look up her dress and attracting his attention to her log legs, wrapped in bright red stockings. The diagonal created by the model's legs directed the eye both to the pro cut and its name.

DAVID DOWNTON

Hi World!

Warm welcome to all of you guys! This is my second blog which is all about Fashion Illustrator/-ion!

Currently, I'm on my first year on Fashion Studies, so I'm still not quiet sure or know too much about Fashion Industries!

Well, there are so many talents out there, however, none are more striking than the work by David Downton, who is also known as "The Master of Fashion Illustrator"

David Downton

Well, at first, he didn't work as a fashion illustrator after his graduation, but he worked on a wide variety of projects (freelance illustrator)  ranging from advertising and packaging to illustrating fiction, cook books and, occasionally, FASHION. Then he was offered to draw at the *COUTURE shows and finally has become well known principally as a fashion illustrator. He possesses a style which is deceptively simple, elegantly classical, yet highly contemporary.

* COUTURE from HAUTE COUTURE words, which mean HIGH(haute) FASHION(couture) or it is described as "The Kingdom of indulgence".

Let's see some of his illustrations!

This evening dress is designed in a sexy collarbone which has translucent pearl luster on a three-dimensional stack dot laces-chiffon. Capturing the dynamic posture, reflects shiny-shiny lights from this dress itself because of the light arround it and gives the sense of glamour!

These are two different outfits but with the same garments and details! On the left side, it's a feminism dress with details (accessories) and laces on the puffed sleeves, whereas, on the right side, it's the opposite of the left side with simple long sleeves dress and legging. The details are on the scarf which makes it looks glamour!

This hourglass shaped-mermaid dress is suitable for women who want to show off their most envied assets, the perfect proportions and tiny waist! Usually this dress is teamed with classic cuts of trendy accessories, which is the headgears.

Not only David Downton designs dress but he also designs hats & headgears in a unique and classic style!

The unique headgear really gives a unique style (of course!) and a classic sense which is emphasized from the bottom laces as well as the fur around the top of hat! It's like attending on a 19th century cosplay evening party!