Rare René

Yesterday's post celebrated an Italian fashion magazine from the '40s through its cover by René Gruau. Let's continue the thread for another day by posting two rare sketches by Gruau from my archive.

The first shows a revisitation by the Sorelle Fontana of the classic man's tuxedo, matched with a pique shirt and a grey waistcoat with tiny embroideries enriched by an antique chain watch. This ensemble was accessorised with a veiled bowler hat (definitely an idea that should be relaunched).

The same hat accessorised also the second sketch that shows instead a model by Schuberth featuring a swallow-tail jacket decorated on the back with six buttons.

The most interesting thing about the drawings is the fact that the models seem to pose in and out of the frame, breaking in a lovely way the space between the reader and the illustration.