Coinciding with London Fashion Week SS15, the exhibition will include more than 40 original works by some of the leading illustrators of the time from Britain, Europe and America including René Bouché, René Gruau and Carl “Eric” Erickson for publications including British and American Vogue, Harpers & Queen, The Sunday Times, Frau im Spiegel (Germany) and Jardin des Modes (France) as well as advertising work for L’Oreal and other famous names in haute couture such as Nina Ricci. There will also be a selection of original designs by designers including Dior, Barbara Hulanicki of BIBA and Zandra Rhodes. Prices will range from £300 to £10,000 ($500-$17,000).
As Connie Gray of Gray M.C.A explained: “For too long fashion illustrators and their illustrations have been seen as a secondary art form, no matter how beautifully executed the image. 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.”
She continued: “Over the years, each illustrator developed their own personnel style, often using wit and charm to distinguish themselves from their competitors. 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.
Tragically, few original fashion illustrations survive today. With the need for speed in production and printing, illustrations were rarely kept. Many were damaged in the printing process and then thrown away, considered worthless once the image was reproduced to print. Those that have survived have become internationally collectable as original and historical art works that truly caught the elegance, attitude and style or the time.”
The 1940s and 1950s saw the heyday of fashion illustration. The illustrators such as “Eric,” Bouché and Tod Draz were constantly in demand and are considered to be the masters of fashion illustration. They brought a realism to fashion illustration and their work was appreciated and admired in all the leading publications of the time. Their style recognized the importance of drawing from life and looking back, their work is iconic to the subtleties of the period and the enormous style that women strived to achieve.
When covering the twice-yearly fashion shows in Paris, the fashion illustrators were forbidden from recording what they saw until they had left the event. They would rush to the nearest café to produce the sketches from memory. Their early working drawings were often more exciting than the final published work. They were often freer, fresher and more spontaneous and would represent the artist behind the picture before it became too overworked for publication.
For more information on Gray M.C.A, visit www.graymca.co.uk .
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