Garments and accessories designed by genuine creative talents can be considered as sound investments and collectors' items, but so are fashion illustrations. Forgotten for a while and replaced by our collective passion for digital images, this discipline has been recently rediscovered thanks to dedicated books, essays and exhibitions that also allowed many of us to ponder a bit more on the links between art and fashion.
London-based gallery GRAY M.C.A, leading specialists in fashion illustration, are preparing a surprise event that will coincide with London Fashion Week.
"Drawing on Style: Four Decades of Elegance" (11th - 16th September 2014) will allow people who are not familiar with too many fashion illustrators to be introduced to this art, while passionate fans will instead be able to enrich their collections and invest in some rare pieces, since this is a selling exhibition (prices range between £300 - £10,000).
The event will include over 40 original fashion illustrations and adverts from the post-War years through to the 1970s, created by both American and European artists for many prominent publications and fashion houses.
"For too long fashion illustrators and their illustrations have been seen as a secondary art form, no matter how beautifully executed the image," Connie Gray of Gray M.C.A explains in the press release for this event. "More often than not, fashion illustrators were more widely known for their advertising work than they were for their work as highly skilled fashion illustrators. Though their style was familiar to the reader and their names published internationally alongside their illustrations, they have never been recognized as true artists. It was almost a secret world in which only those working in the industry knew and admired each other."
"Drawing on Style" tries to get visitors and collectors onto a journey in this secret world, that starts in the early days of Parisian fashion shows, when it was only possible to sketch the designs seen on the runways when the event was over, so most illustrators and journalists would produce quick and spontaneous drawings from memory in cafes after the shows.
One of the earliest illustrations included in this event (an ink and wash drawing for American Vogue titled "Awaiting To Embark"; price: £4,000) is by American Carl "Eric" Erickson (1891-1958), who became known for his fashion and advertising works after moving from Chicago to New York.
He debuted at Vogue in 1916, becoming a regular artist on the magazine. His illustrations and society portraits were characterised by loose brush strokes and colour washes, though his preferred medium was charcoal. In later years he became a master and inspiration for other illustrators such as René Bouché, René Willaumez Bouet, René Gruau and Antonio Lopez.
Passionate fans of the Forties will find interesting pieces such as an illustration by Maynard for Nina Ricci (1946; price: £2,500) in which blue and pink tones prevail; several drawings for Frau im Spiegel (1947; price: £5,000) by Gerd Grimm (1911-1998), the only German fashion illustrator to make his name internationally and work not just in fashion, but also as a book cover artist and for leading advertising agencies of the time; and drawings by French illustrator Pierre Mourgue (1890-1969) who published his art on the Gazette du Bon Ton until 1920 when Conde Naste purchased the magazine. He then moved to New York and brought to Vogue his Parisian wit and style.
Collectors interested in rarities shouldn't maybe look further than Christian Dior's sketches (£5,500) on original Lucien Lelong letterhead: the nipped in waist and longer and full skirts portrayed by Dior show that the designer was already working on what would have become the "New Look". The drawings are inscribed with 'Praline' the nickname of one of the post war period's models Janine Sagny-Marsay, a favoured of Dior and later Pierre Balmain.
The Fifties are represented by American René Bouché (1905-1963) and French Pierre Simon (1907-1999). The former started working for French Vogue from 1938 on, portraying also famous personalities including the Kennedy family, Truman Capote and Aldous Huxley, and designing covers for Time magazine as well (a cover for British Vogue for the November 1953 issue is amongst the most expensive pieces being rated around £10,000).
Simon attended L'Ecole de Beaux Arts and worked for numerous publications including Harper's Bazaar and L'Illustration and collaborated with famous fashion houses (such as Dior, Van Cleff and Arpels).
The decline of fashion illustration started in the '60s, but at the time there were still plenty of talented artists around, as proved by the selection of illustrators included in the event, such as Eva Aldbrook who studied at St Martin's School of Art under Muriel Pemberton and collaborated with British Vogue, The Evening Standard and The Sunday Times.
Aldbrook's elegant and dynamic images perfectly chronicled the transition of fashion from the formality of the '50s to the freedom of the '60s, a transformation also portrayed by British illustrator Eric Stemp (1924- 2001), commissioned for British Vogue continuously from 1955 to 1963.
Stemp portrayed model Sevilla Hercolani, and so did May Routh, who worked as a fashion designer and then illustrator for Vogue, Elle, and The Times, before becoming a costume designer (among the films she contributed to there is also The Man Who Fell To Earth starring David Bowie).
Iconic designs from the '60s such as Courrèges's are illustrated by American Gustav Falk (1926-2011), who collaborated with Jardin des Modes, Wallis and Women's Wear Daily.
Among the most elegant drawings from this decade there are a few ones originally commissioned by The Sunday Times to American illustrator Tod Draz (1917 - 2002).
Though he gained experience in New York, he then moved to Paris where he collaborated with Vogue. Draz was known for his passion for drawing from life that contributed to give his works a strong sense of dynamism.
"Over the years, each illustrator developed their own personal style, often using wit and charm to distinguish themselves from their competitors," Connie Gray also explains in the press release. "Almost all were products of the most respected art schools of the time and to be a truly great illustrator, they needed to understand not only the life form but also the process of designing, cutting and finishing a garment. The fall of the fabric, the cut of the cloth - the ability to translate what they saw into a work of art that would sell a thousand frocks."
There was probably nobody who understood such things better than René Gruau (1909-2004), whose elegant drawings and minimal lines graced the pages of many fashion publications. He also collaborated with Schiaparelli, Balmain, Lanvin, Balenciaga, Givenchy and Elizabeth Arden before getting his big break with the house of Dior.
Gruau is known for creating for the French designer the original Miss Dior image, and numerous iconic adverts characterised by an almost cinematic eye (original Gruau's works from the '60s start at £6,000).
The essence of the '70s is captured by the work of British Angela Landels, who was Art Director at Harper's and Queen, Dame Zandra Rhodes (the event features original designs for wedding dresses with plenty of pleated ruffles), Brian Stonehouse (1918-1998), famous for being a Vogue fashion artist, a wartime secret agent and a professional portrait painter, and Barbara Hulanicki, better known by fashion fans as the founder of the BIBA boutique.
Gray highlights in the press release that, unfortunately, only a few original fashion illustrations survive today as they were rarely kept and many were also considered worthless once the image was reproduced to print.
These are important reasons why "Drawing on Style" could be an excellent way to get to know key illustrators (even though we may not be able to buy the rarest pieces...) and maybe think about the importance of a partially forgotten art that could help forging new careers in the fashion industry.
"Drawing on Style: Four Decades of Elegance", GRAY M.C.A., Gallery 8, 8 Duke Street, St James's, London, UK, 11th-16th September 2014.
Image credits for this post
All images © Gray Modern & Contemporary Art 2014
1. Carl Erickson (Eric) (1891 - 1958)
Awaiting To Embark
Original Project for American Vogue
C1940's, Ink & Wash, signed
35.5 x 34.5 cms
£4,000
2.Carl Erickson (1891- 1958)
Original Advertising Illustration commissioned for Black Magic Chocolates
Evening Scene on a Liners Deck
C1956, Watercolour, Pencil & Wash, signed
49 x 40 cms
£5,000
3. Maynard ( - )
Original Fashion Illustration for Nina Ricci
1946, Ink & Watercolour, signed
48 x 32.5 cms
£2,500
4. Gerd Grimm (1911 - 1998)
Original Fashion Illustration for German Magazine ‘Frau im Speigel’
1947, Indian Ink & Watercolour, signed
42 x 33 cms
£4,500
5. Gerd Grimm (1911 - 1998)
Original Fashion Illustration of Evening Dress for German Magazine ‘Frau im Speigel’
1949, Indian Ink & Watercolour, signed
40 x 33 cms
£4,500
6. Pierre Mourgue ( - )
Original Fashion Illustration
Femme
1946, Ink & Watercolour, signed & inscribed
46 x 29 cms
£5,000
7. Christian Dior (1905 - 1957)
Original Fashion Drawing
'Praline'
1944, Initialed & Inscribed CD
Pen & Ink on Cream Lucien Lelong Headed Paper
28 x 22 cms
£5,500
8. René Bouché (1905 - 1963)
Original Fashion Illustration for Caudbeard & American Vogue
1950, Ink & Watercolour, signed
62 x 48 cms
£4,500
9. Pierre Simon (1907 - 1999)
Original Advertising Fashion Illustration
Woman with Umbrella
1950, Ink & Gouache, signed
35.5 x 27 cms
£3,500
10. Eva Aldbrook (1925 - )
Dior Model I
Original Fashion Illustration of Dior Model Christine Tidmarsh
1956, Mixed Media, signed
54 x 36 cms
£1,600
11. Eric Stemp (1924 - 2001)
Original Fashion Drawing of Model Sevilla Hercolani
C1960's, Charcoal on Paper, signed
56 x 38 cms
£2,500
12. May Routh (1934 - )
Original Fashion Illustration of Model Sevilla Hercolani
C1960's, Ink on Paper
43 x 28 cms
£800
13. Gustav Falk (1926-2011)
Original Fashion Illustration for French Magazine 'Jardin des Modes'
Model Wearing Courrèges
C1965, Ink, Pencil & White Gouache, signed
64 x 48 cms
£1,500
14. Todd Draz (1917 - )
Original Fashion Illustration Commissioned for Sunday Times Fashion Page
Model Wearing Spanish Fashion Design of Suit with Raglan Sleeves
C1960's, Ink on Paper
60 x 38 cms
£2,500
15. René Gruau (1909 - 2004)
Original Fashion Illustration
C1960's, Ink, signed
50 x 64 cms
£6,000
16.Angela Landels (1935 - )
Zandra Rhodes - Jubilee I
Original Fashion Illustration Commissioned for Harpers & Queen
C1972, Pencil & Wash, signed
49 x 38 cms
£3,500
17. Brian Stonehouse M.B.E. (1918 - 1998)
Original Working Fashion Illustration for US Magazine
Pucci
C1970's, Mixed Media, signed
68 x 48 cms
£2,500
18. Barbara Hulanicki (1936 - )
Original Fashion Sketch
BIBA - Boots
C1970, Watercolour on Paper, signed & inscribed
56 x 42 cms
£2,500
19. Barbara Hulanicki (1936 - )
Original Fashion Sketch
BIBA - Dress
27x19cms
£2,500
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