Decoy Magazine

Miss Piggy makes the cover of Sunday Times Style magazine

2012-02-05T12:34:00.000-08:00

Fashion icon Miss Piggy plays the editor of French Vogue in the new Muppets movie, and to promote the film, she's featured on the cover of Sunday Style, in an editorial wearing exclusively made Jason Wu, Prabal Gurung, Brian Atwood, Opening Ceremony, Giles & Brother and Philip Crangi, and offering hilarious advice and fashion tips. Make sure you click to enlarge and read. Riding the wave of success, she has also created a range of makeup for Mac.
This isn't the first time Piggy has featured in a high fashion shoot, several years ago she featured in three shoots for Katie Grand's Pop magazine, wearing custom made Prada, Louis Vuitton, Miu Miu, Burberry Prorsum and Bvlgari jewellery.

'American Pigolo' shoot for Pop:

Miss Piggy with Tracey Emin at Julien Macdonald's show, 2005. What I would give to go for drinks with them both.

On the cover of French Elle with Catherine Deneuve

Miss Piggy with Giles Deacon, wearing a dress from his ss12 for the uk premiere of the new film. She also wears Zac Posen and Louis Vuitton during the film.

Miss Piggy for Jeremy Scott. Scott recently dressed Miss Piggy for a photoshoot with Kermit the Frog as Andy Warhol. Among the accessories Piggy wore to compliment Scott's outfit were gloves by LaCrasia and a ring by Noir.
He has dressed Piggy on more than one occasion, including her front row appearance at his fashion show and for The Muppets world premiere.

View a slideshow of Miss Piggy's fashion moments here.

The Fashion Illustrations and Working Sketches of Jean Paul Goude.

2012-02-02T05:19:00.000-08:00

Drugstore Fop, 1966.

Jean Paul Goude's current retrospective 'Goudemalion' at Les Arts Décoratifs in Paris has resulted in the release of a new book to coincide with the exhibition, simply titled 'Jean Paul Goude'. I was hesitant to see just how much new work would be in the book, given that I already own So Far So Goude (2005) and The Goude Touch (2009), both fantastic titles showing just as many working sketches as they do final works and photography. It's incredibly surprising then just how much new work and previously unseen sketches have made it into the new book. Unable to attend the exhibition, this new volume, with over FIVE HUNDRED images, will ease the pain of not being able to see most of it in person.

The beauty of Goude's work lies in its humour and delightful daftness as much as it does his strong visual language, and the ability to combine both effortlessly. Thanks to his past work as an illustrator / artist / painter / graphic designer, his working sketches have become an integral part of his portfolio and have surpassed the idea of more than just a working doodle. All of his books contain large amounts of them and are just as joyful and inspirational as his photography.

Within the visual language of his idea sketches are strong lines, blocks, cut ups, altered borders and heavy edges. What separates his style from others is that he doesn't just consider these an illustrative element or just part of his drawing style. He completely lifts them as inspiration, and uses them straight into his photography. Basically, his drawing technique informs his photography style, as opposed to just sketching out an idea, then photographing it.

indian ink on tracing paper, 1969.

(So Far So Goude dates this as 1969, whereas Jean Paul Goude dates it as 1966.)

detail of wall fresco for Printemps, 1966.

All for Printemps, 1964.

Jean Paul considers his early fashion illustration work for Printemps to be the beginning of his suited style, which suited both his 'morphology and dreams of rising up socially'. He used his friends as models after being asked to fill the empty walls of Printemps' mens store, Brummel.
"They were all there: Maurice, Albert, and Jean-Jacques, all very chic, brought together in a giant fresco that ran the whole length of the store. In my narcissistic quest for personal elegance, I had become, without being quite aware of it, a kind of reference for the 'drugstore fops,' the real ones, those from Passy."

My favourite in particular is the figure slouched in the chair, one accentuated square shoulder and fading legs, finished with the shoe outline. It's beautifully expressive and just slightly abstract in its finish. This out of all them is the best indicator of where Goude's style would go.

An interesting excerpt from the new book:
"As a child I was fascinated by René Gruau's drawings that were pasted up all over Paris. . . After an extremely promising start, my career as a fashion illustrator finished in bitter failure. It all started when the artistic director of the printemps department store, Kimpy Baumgartner, suggested I cover the walls of the store with my drawings. They were brush and ink drawings, quite spirited, showing my little gang from Saint Mandé with the new look I lavished on them. So not a great thing to do for a commission. I'd forgotten that my role was to make a case for what the client was supposed to be selling. The fashion of the time that I'd been asked to interpret for the store was the complete opposite of what I considered stylish - it just couldn't work. After a year the freshness of my first drawings had evaporated, and i was totally out of favour. I was barely 24 years old."

for Esquire, pencil, 1976.

gouache sketch, 1957.

Gouache sketch, 1957.

gouache sketch, 1960.

Working Sketches . . .
These are paramount to the identity of Jean Paul Goude. The ones featured here are mainly for his muses Grace and Farida, and for his longstanding creative output for Galleries Lafayette, for which the book The Goude Touch is completely dedicated to. Maybe it's because I'm an illustrator myself, but I seem to find myself looking through his sketches more than his final work now. You can see just how much inspiration he gets directly from his muses and where his imagination takes him, even if the idea doesn't become further realised than the sketch itself. Despite owning all currently available titles on his work, I would quite happily buy another full of just his working sketches alone. Truly inspiring.

1995.

Toukie, 1973.

for Galleries Lafayette:

L'Homme, 2003.

Retro Chic, 2004.

L'Homme, 2004.

2005.

L'Amazone, 2002.

Chanel Egoiste, excerpt from storyboard, 1994.

Farida . . . .

'Hairstyle drawing for Farida', 1984.

1982.

1984.

Various:

1998.

2002.

1979.

Grace . . .

1978.

'Battling Grace', 1978

'Battling Grace', 1978

1978.

'First impression of Grace', 1978

'Grace revised and updated', 1978

'Fatherhood Sketch at compass point studios', 1980

'Grace on her way to manhood', 1980.

Libertango costume design, 1981.

Libertango costume design, 1981.

Tony Viramontes illustrates Thierry Mugler

2012-02-01T04:58:00.000-08:00

If you're a fan of Viramontes, then make sure you join the facebook fan page, which continually updates with new unseen archive illustrations and exclusive information regarding the new upcoming book on his work.

Here are three Mugler studies that were posted recently which I felt compelled to share. They reflect perfectly Viramontes' energetic style while avoiding colour and materials that usually associate him with the 80s / 90s time period he is so reflective of. The giveaway only being the Mugler outfits themselves. Gorgeous.

The Men of Rene Gruau

2012-01-22T07:22:00.000-08:00

Just over a year ago I was asked to be a part of Dior Illustrated: Rene Gruau and the Line of Beauty. I was commissioned to respond to Gruau's mens illustrations and produce an original piece. Although I'd seen his work before, I hadn't studied it at length, and researching more online now, I realise just how many illustrations Gruau produced. It easily goes into the four figures area. There are just so many out there, nearly all with his recognisable style and line play. I thought with this post it would be greater to focus on his men, having looked into them before and knowing that they are often neglected when it comes to focusing on his more iconic works.

With the mens illustrations in particular, it's noticeable how Gruau changed his line tactics in portraying men. He often reduced women down to a few simple lines, creating fluid, elegant, stylish and suggestive works that were more creative and expressive than diagrammatic or representational. With his men, he focused on the ability to use negative space, stronger lines and bolder colours to channel a masculine identity. The fact that Gruau was able to confidently convey male and female sensuality through such subtle differences in technique is astounding.

Easily the most popular of all where the Dior Sauvage ads, which where often composed as scenes using just a few main components. Bold black, bold red, a fully realised male figure - mostly nude or in a towel, and postures and facial expressions that gave the man his character, which was usually laid back, collected and debonair.
This style of gentleman followed throughout most of his work, an identifiably cool customer, always relaxed. There was a great sense of humour and ease to the works which gave them a great sex appeal, the hairy legs of a Sauvage man in a bathrobe, the man struggling to hold up a colossal bouquet of roses.
Rare examples of other looks Gruau tried in his men included the long & untamed hair men in two Dior Sauvage ads that I cannot seem to find anywhere, save for two tiny thumbnails on the official Rene Gruau Site. (These admittedly aren't as effective as his other depictions and have been less favoured by most).
Also his Dormeuil men of the 80s are significantly stronger in their appearance, due in part to the times of the 80s powersuit and also for brand image. There's also one rare pencil drawing (currently available at Christie's auction house) which I haven't come across before.

Rene also produced 48 original cover illustrations for Sir Magazine, all of which can be seen HERE. Amazing gallery, so rather than repost them all here, make sure you take a look, his variation and simplicity continue to be of great inspiration to any illustrator. It's a great shame the official website for Rene Gruau is rather gross and unnappealing. His work is so protected that it offers not much more than tiny thumbnails to view, all cocooned in a poor website design.

Another website which is brilliant for seeing hundreds, literally, at least 500 more of Gruau's work is www.hprints.com, just search 'rene gruau'. There are nearly a hundred illustrations in this post so be warned of long loading times / scrolling.

for Christian Dior:

Dior: Jules fragrance

Dior: Eau Sauvage:

Continue Reading . . .

for Pantene cosmetics:

for louis Philippe:

for Marly:

Jaeger advertisment in Vogue, 1953

for Balenciaga, 1951.

I love these three illustrations for the use of the male's silhouettes as black space:

for Blizzand:

1950:

1957:

1957:

1959:

1965:

For McGregor menswear:

1955:

1955:

1956:

1956:

For Noveltex:

1961:

for Club:

for Dormeuil

1982:

1983:

1986:

1988:

1989:

Various others:

for Bettina, 1962.

1955:

rare pencil sketch, 1957.

Umbrella ad, 1962.

Marques De Qualite, 1950.

for Sir Magazine.

For Jimic, 1955.

Mats Gustafson

2012-01-08T13:44:00.000-08:00

There's not much that needs to be said about Mats work. It's so beautifully simple that discussing and dissecting his style feels completely unneccessary. Always graceful, graphic, timeless and stylish, his work transcends eras and defies becoming attached to a particular time period or decade. I've compiled as much as I can but the body of work is simply too exhaustive.
Mats has amassed a great amount of work in his signature stripped down aesthetic. Some nice diversions I managed to come across include different materials used and three mens illustrations. Mats draws from the best designers and for the best magazines, and that is how it should be for the best illustrators.

Make sure you look at the website for The Fashion Illustration Gallery. All the photographed spread images from the Vogue Italias that you see further down are from their site. There are even more gorgeous spreads to see over there and all the original magazines are available to purchase.

There's also his large portfolios over at Art _+ Commerce, his agency's site. There's plenty more work that isn't in this post, including stronger silhouettes and poses, although rather annoyingly, all the images are watermarked with the the Art + Commerce logo, but it's still worth looking. Enjoy!.

Continue Reading . . .

Italian Vogue, september 1997.

Versace, for Vogue Italia, March 1994.

For Vogue Italia, september 2008

For Vogue Italia, september 2009.

for Vogue Italia, 2001.

For Harper's Bazaar, 2003.

For Vogue China, 2010.

A siginificantly rare departure for Mats, male figures for L'Uomo Vogue (wearing Carolina Herrera)

Alaia fall 2011 couture for Rodeo Magazine.

for Vogue UK 1986:

Versace Spring Summer 95 for Harpers Bazaar

for La Galerie Lafayette in Paris:

Fall / Winter 2005 looks for La Vie En Rose magazine:

Decoy Issue 3 out now!!

2011-12-19T17:31:00.000-08:00

The third issue of my fanzine Decoy is now available, and as you can see has made the jump from black and white to colour. I've reimagined my favourite male model Will Eustace in Dior Homme and Versace H&M for the cover.

Richard Gray's phenomenal exclusive illustration is the A2 centrefold for this issue, with an accompanying interview. It also has a fantastic full page exclusive by Jean Paul Thurlow, and interviews with Alex Noble, Akmal Shaukat and Sabine Pieper.

Above are two of my own illustrations for the issue, (I posted a different one a few weeks back) and the Richard Gray exclusive. To look at more info head over to my website!

Here It Is!

2011-12-15T11:30:00.000-08:00

The new issue! (click to enlarge)

It's finally gone to print and will be available from tuesday 20th december at the latest. I couldn't resist drawing my favourite model again, Will Eustace, who is becoming something of a muse to me, this time wearing Dior Homme SS12 and Versace x HM.

Decoy has made the jump to full traditional colour newsprint with this issue and with a slightly increased page count too, I'm very proud of this one!

The issue contains:

four new illustrations by myself, a COLOSSAL A2 exclusive centrefold by Richard Gray, with accompanying interview, an exclusive illustration for Decoy by Jean Paul Thurlow, and interviews with Alex Noble, Sabine Pieper and Akmal Shaukat, all with illustrations.

To be notified the moment it becomes available, email richard@richardkilroy.com
Head over to Trendland to see the exclusive preview!

Thierry Perez

2011-12-08T04:26:00.000-08:00

I made this post a while back but had to delete it because of a Virus scare. Thankfully, I still have all the images, and now a few new ones! It's super hard to find Thierry's work online. The book 'Fashion Illustration' by Nicholas Drake has always been the key source (and is wildly cheap on amazon now) but apart from that, I'm stumped. He was clearly drawn to super fierce women of the 90s, most notably, all the supermodels and Madonna, who he continuously drew, and as I saw in the book 'Madonna in Art' continues to draw Madonna in each new incarnation of her image. He worked exclusively for Gaultier until 1991 which shows in all the outfit illustrations for Madonna's Blonde Ambition Tour.

However, he will always be known for the fashion illustrations featured below. One interesting clip of an Alaia show shows a rare animated illustration feature worked into a clip of Alaia's spring 1991 show, including Neneh Cherry.

More after the jump . . .

(I would LOVE to be able to see the illustrations featured above properly in the tiny tiny images, they look fantastic. If anyone has any word on these please contact me)

George Stavrinos in Colour.

2011-12-03T08:46:00.000-08:00

The above two are apparently for a German company that manufactured fabric.

'Rustler' for Blueboy Magazine.

'Racquetball'

Unknown.

Anyone who owns issue 2 of Decoy or have visited this or my own blog, I've been a big fan of George Stavrinos for a few years. Since Sue Tait Porcaro launched the Facebook group 'Fans of George Stavrinos' many more of his hard to find illustrations have been uploaded onto the page.

Given that George was primarily known for his black and white drawings, I thought it would be interesting to compile a post of all his colour work. There is a lot of work for the gay porn magazine Blueboy that appears to exist NOWHERE online, and the best I can offer here is what I have managed to source either myself or via the works that have been uploaded to the facebook page via other group members, including members Herb Greenwood and Robert De Michiell which I am infinitely grateful for.

While the illustrations here bare all the hallmarks of George's technique, it's the black and white work for Barneys and Bergdorf that really did set him apart. I guess with these being in colour, they become endowed with reality too much, and the black and white work allowed Stavrinos to play about with line and stylization more, playing on his accentuation of edges and strong angular shapes. Admittedly, I still prefer his monochomatic work, but these goes to show that George was no stranger to colour and in fact used it very effectively. I'm still desperate to see these illustrations in their full glory. Some of the drawings, particularly the one directly below, are studies for other illustrations and not final pieces.

'Study for Bather'

Unknown. Guessing for Blueboy magazine?

More after the jump . . .

Travels in Gay America cover.

Bud Light Commercial.

for PlayGirl Magazine.

'Lifeguard' for Blueboy Magazine.

for Blueboy. Unsure of the title.

The above two illustrations were for GQ Magazine (early-mid 80s)

portrait of Meryl Streep.

Mel Odom, The Dreamer.

2011-11-29T07:55:00.000-08:00

First and foremost, Mel odom is an artist, having worked on illustrations, dolls, masks and oil paintings. Yes, this blog is on fashion illustration, but while Odom has stated that he considers only one of his illustrations to be truly classed as a fashion illustration ('Shirts' for Playboy Guide, 1981), his body of work is of great style influence and his illustration can be quite easily placed in a fashion context. The surreal, often sexual and highly stylized qualities of the characters and creatures in his images lend themselves perfectly to the escapist nature of fashion.

As such, his illustrative work has inspired Nicola Formichetti, one of the most important and regarded stylists in the industry right now. Nick Knight and Formichetti styled an editorial based on Odom's work for Arena Homme +, and then featured his work (illustrations and masks) alongside an editorial for the latest issue of Vogue Hommes Japan.

I managed to buy his book 'Dreamer' off Amazon for very little as it was published back in 1984. There are more works in the book not featured here or online, including some striking pencil illustrations, and I have a feeling Mel's earlier work is about to go through a big renaissance from the likes of fashion students who will be coming across his work for the first time.

He illustrated for magazines such as Viva, Time Magazine, Omni, Playboy (winning 1980 illustrator of the year from them), multiple book covers for Nancy Collins and Ruth Rendell and, and most significantly, his work for Blueboy Magazine (for which I am DESPERATE to get ahold of - they contain super rare homoerotic drawings by George Stavrinos that do not exist anywhere online ), in some respects his work reminds me of the work of Tara Dougans and Richard Gray. The eye for such strong graphical compositions that runs through their work continues to amaze me, so make sure you check out their work too if you already haven't.

"Alex Sanchez at Blueboy Magazine would let me do anything I wanted, as long as it was gorgeous. So I did some very personal stuff for him, portraits of boyfriends and such, mixed into my illustrations. A lot of my best work from that period was done for Blueboy."

"My technique is basically lead pencil over dyes on a very smooth illustration board. I create the sketch initially in pencil on vellum."

"I think that's how you best approach commercial work, finding the personal thing within it that you can explore."

All quotes from an interview with TheArtPoint.
Make sure you read the fantastic interview on their site with Mel about his career and the evolution of his work. Anything else I would write would essentially be a rewrite of this interview. Another brilliant interview for showstudio can be read here.

More after the jump . . .

Glen Hanson for Andrew Mackenzie

2011-11-24T04:52:00.000-08:00

circe 2003/04?

René Habermacher & Jannis Tsipoulanis

2011-09-26T15:43:00.000-07:00

More after the jump . . .

I ADORE the work of Réne and Jannis, and it seems next to impossible to find their collaborative illustration work anywhere online. And by this, I mean, the gloriously artificial images that they produced when working together, (not their photography). Airbrush art is far too easy and inappropriate a term to use, these sumptuous hyper-real illustrations obviously use photography as their source material, but in their own words, "the technique is not about retouching, it's about destroying and building something from nothing. The end result shows everything in its minutest detail, while retouching seeks to obliterate." The images here remind me a lot of Richard Bernstein's covers for Interview, especially for their fantastic use of colour.

I've ended up scanning images out of my two favourite illustration books in order to put this post together and show just how amazing their work is, Big Active's 'Heart Head & Hips', and 'Fashion Illustration Next' by Laird Borelli. Make sure you check them out, they're still amongst the best and most inspiring books around for fashion illustrators despite being released a few years ago. Sadly René and Jannis work seperately now it would seem, and this type of work for them is now a thing of the past .Also excuse the quality of the two poor images of natalia vodianova, it was the best I could find online!

Julie Verhoeven - 'Fashion Icons' For Ponystep Magazine

2011-09-22T07:33:00.000-07:00

Julie Verhoeven created some original illustrations of the industries' top designers for the launch issue of Ponystep magazine. Make sure you grab a copy of the first issue while you can, the second is due out very soon!

Richard Gray - New illustrations

2011-09-22T03:35:00.000-07:00

Richard has just produced 10 fantastic new illustrations for a perfume editorial in the next issue of Commons&Sense in Japan. Commons&Sense is a large format magazine, so grabbing a copy would give you ten great size images of his work. I hope they're full page! Via the Art Department Illustration Blog.

More after the jump . . .

David Downton - Couture Voyeur

2011-09-14T02:22:00.000-07:00

Thursday 8th ended up being quite a profound day for me. Firstly, I received news (which I can't divulge) in regards to my own illustration work that will in no doubt change and potentially help define my career. Presumptuous to say so I know, or to even talk about it. So, straight after this news, I was off to attend David Downton's talk at the Fashion Illustration Gallery on Cork St, a talk that I jumped at the chance of attending the moment it was announced. On the way out of the tube at Oxford Circus I even noticed the new posters for Fenwick's Autumn Winter ad campaign, beautifully done by David himself. David's talk, coupled with aforementioned news, left me feeling almost emotional at the level of passion I felt towards fashion illustration, and how I'm absolutely confident in knowing I want to continue with it for as long as I can.

More after the jump . . .

So, once I had arrived, there were a handful of tables laid out in the gallery space, along with assistants in gloves, showing us many of Davids originals and prints, all to see in their beautiful large-format glory. It's incredibly reassuring that his work is near enough exactly the same as the image as you see in print. There are no noticeable adjustments made in photoshop in order to create the final image, something I've relied on once or twice myself and generally illustrators have the opportunity to rely on.

Once we were all seated, David introduced himself, and began to speak about how he came to be a fashion illustrator. I've read enough interviews with him to know the general story but it was fantastic to hear it from a more personal angle. His family were very sports based. He grew up in a family where his father and brother were professional cricketers, and a career involving fashion and style was an unusual pursuit. He spoke about how he was praised very much as a child, his feelings towards being an art student and dealing with levels of expectation and self-expectation (something I completely empathize with). He discussed the great artists and illustrators whom he studied, who whether conscious or subconsciously, influenced his style of work.
To quote him directly "nothing is original, everything is re-interpreted, there's nothing wrong with copying in order to learn, just copy from the best". A very similar quote that Westwood once made about studying Dior's new look endlessly in admiration, in order to gain her own visual language.

A great piece of information he shared with us was discovering the original illustration that he used to stare at and draw continuously as a child. In his parents LP collection, he became obsessed with the only LP cover that was illustrated, shown below, 'Never On Sunday.' He studied it continuously, the way the models' weight was shifted in that particular stance, the way her bag was drawn and the way the linework was used to full effect. The influence on him is clear.

David then proceeded through a presentation of artists including Rene Bouche, Bob Peak, Gruau and the other artists that he looked to for inspiration to show how his own style has developed through influence. It was great to see his admiration for Viramontes again and informed us there will be a new book on his work coming out (see the last blog post on Decoy for more info on Viramontes). Leading up to work in the 60s and 70s, he informed us that his original desire was to illustrate film posters, which of course we know is now sadly non existent. It's clear that the element of iconography has always been a major factor in David's work, that drive to illustrate charismatic models and people, and create an iconic image, not just an illustration of anybody, or a forgettable face. He manages to create the striking element of simplicity in an image, the immediacy of star quality and great style.

As the story goes with Downton's career, it's widely known that at 36 his career took the turn of fate when he received a phonecall asking him to illustrate the couture shows. Being at the Versace show, and in his words 'watching Naomi, Kate, Linda, these gorillas of fashion' saunter down the catwalk, he could barely sketch fast enough. He spoke about the surreality of drawing Amber Valetta in a couture fitting with Valentino, the dogs playing about, and having to make himself able to detach himself from being in awe of the situation in order to get the sketch done.

Jokingly he stated that he was jealous of himself, never taking it for granted and always being amazed and grateful to be around and work with such incredible talent, which is understandly important, that level of awe becomes the driving inspiration and context for work. He began to start signing his illustrations with 'dd', something which he felt became a persona and helped detach him from the surreal world of the industry and the briefs he was getting. He wasn't doing all this, 'dd' was doing it all. He showed us a fantastic photograph of Linda Evangelista, posed in front of him while he sat sketching in Philip Treacy's studio, Linda in one of Philip's pieces.

Another example of work that he discussed was an older illustration for Thierry Mugler. It was one that might not be immediately recognisable as David's style, but the elements are still there. As you can see, the image is in a paper-cut style, and David emphasized the importance of respecting a designer's style as much as your own, which the illustration manages perfectly.

We were treated to one or two looser rougher pieces of work that David stated aren't really for a brief as such, but fun and important to play around with, and incredibly satisfying. As an illustrator myself I know I like to create really simple rough work to exercise some creativity when I can, even if the illustration is only for myself.

One of the more important and inspirational points of the talk was when David stated that a lot of contemporaries who he started out with either no longer do illustration or have changed career. I recently met up with Richard Gray (another member of the elite illustrators at F.I.G) who said the same thing to me, that a lot of illustrators seem to burn out in five years, and their popularity begins to fade. Richard pointed out it's important to establish your identity as an illustrator but also need to diversify in order to not become associated with the past or a particular time. To quote David: "if you find yourself in fashion you'll also find yourself out of it again, it's not possible to stay on top, fashion by nature means replacing with the new". A slightly disheartening (because it's true) statement, and shows just how aware and self-aware illustrators like David and Richard are. David explained that to some extent he is almost 'uncool', as his work is, at the end of the day, seen as reflecting a bygone era, yet at the same time, his line work and style keep him in a contemporary context, without being too directional to become dated in a few years time.

As David continued, he brought up the point that fashion illustration is still everywhere but the mags; it's seen as a side alternative, it's more artistic but it doesn't sell the product as strongly and at the end of the day, we all know the mags are ruled by the advertisers. 'Cooler' mags will use illustrators to appear more forward and directional but will soon give up on it if they get bigger.

As for his clients, he mentioned that models and actresses work differently with illustrators. It's very easy in their careers to say no and very hard to say yes, their image is there career and what they earn from, and it's completely rightfully understandable for them / their agent to be in control over it. They put their image in the complete hands of the illustrator, whereas with photographers there is the element of control and discussing back and forth. With an illustrator, it's completely in the illustrator's construction. (gossip: he also announced as part of his residency at Claridges, he has just illustrated Sarah Jessica Parker). When asked by a member in the group, he said he would love to illustrate Julianne Moore, Tilda Swinton and Charlotte Rampling, amongst others. Classic Downton women for sure.

David manages to instill the faith that a career in fashion illustration is not only possible but also long lasting, providing your enthusiasm and determination for it come from a genuine place, and I was probably not the only person to walk away from the talk feeling even more passionate and driven about fashion illustration than ever before.

go to his site

purchase a copy of Masters of Fashion illustration

See the Decoy review for Masters Of Fashion Illustration

Tony Viramontes

2011-08-28T12:57:00.001-07:00

"I look for new ideas because I always want to be in a state of creative anxiety and insecurity. If I feel sure of myself I cannot be creative."

It’s hard to write anything original about Viramontes when there are hundreds of articles out there documenting his incredible and tragically short career. His electric and energetic illustrations remain a great influence to all fashion illustrators in terms of both technique and style. I have however managed to scan some old copies of ‘fashion illustration’ and the revised edition, ‘fashion illustration today’ by Nicholas Drake which was released when Viramontes was still alive, which contains some illustrations that I haven’t seen elsewhere online.
Viramontes was more than just an illustrator, and he disliked being referred to as one. He would also work with photography and mixed the two mediums together, creating striking new wave images that would go on to gain iconic status. His work for The Face (particularly my favourite) worked closely with Ray Petri, Barry Kamen and Mitzi Lorenz and helped define the Buffalo style period of the 80s, the period that The Face was considered to be at it’s peak. Unfortunately, his career was cut short when he tragically died in 1988 of Aids, aged just 28. It’s saddening to think just how much more he would have accomplished had he lived on.
The facts:
Born in Los Angeles in 1960. After travelling extensively was based in New York - studying photography and fine arts.
A trip to Paris saw him work for major houses like Valentino, Claude Montana and Yves Saint Laurent, Valentino, Versace, Chanel, Perry Ellis and Rochas cosmetics.
His style was fast and electric, and he would work through dozens of quickly drawn illustrations to capture the right one. He completely wiped the floor with the illustrators at the time who were favoured for working in a softer pastel style.
His sketches caught Anna Piaggi's attention - he worked for Vogue Italia, Harpers Bazaar, Lei in Italy, Vogue USA, The Face, Marie Claire and Le Monde in France.
He listed among his influences Man Ray, Jean Cocteau, Degas, Matisse, Egon Schiele, Picasso, Fellini and Tom of Finland.
Goldy - the latest Italian version of Fiorucci - and Hanae Mori, the Japanese couturiere, asked him to take on the artistic direction of their companies, from the decoration of their boutiques to the design of their collections.
"It is extremes and contrasts that inspire me - an enormous lady in the street leading a tiny dog on a leash, for example. It is essential to capture the image, not a detail, not a garment or an expression, but an impression. Of the hundreds of sketches I might make for one drawing, it is almost always the first drawing which states the essential.”

More after the jump . . .

Luca Mantovanelli

2011-08-14T06:49:00.001-07:00

Luca is relatively new to the world of fashion illustration, the illustrations he has produced in the last few months have significantly contributed to defining his style and we can expect to see a lot more of his work over the next few months I imagine.
I love his use of colour and tone, it manages to feel muted and colourful at the same time thanks to the grey dusky tones at play. As with all good fashion illustration, his appreciation for composition and line plays a strong part in his execution. And who doesn't like to stare at images of hot young male models?

Interestingly Luca also studied architecture, which shows through in the sharp execution and proportions.

Follow his Tumblr here.
If you like his work, make sure you also check out the work of Ricardo Fumanal, Jean Paul Thurlow and Jenny Mortsell.

More after the jump . . .

Bernadette Pascua

2011-08-07T06:22:00.000-07:00

While surfing through various random blogs about fashion illustration and other things, I came across a link to the work of Bernadette Pascua, and I'm kind of surprised I haven't come across her illustrations before. Her work varies from the simplest of line work, to more ink based and commercially viable illustration for mags like Grazia.
I'm absolutely in love with and inspired by the simpler illustrations and their spare quality, all of which boast a fantastic proportions and character with such little markmaking. I've included all of my favourites in this long post but check out these other links to see more.
Bernadette's Flickr
Her Website.

More after the jump

DAMIEN BLOTTIÈRE

2011-06-29T08:56:00.000-07:00

WOAH. I have been paying attention to Damien's work for a good while, but everytime I see new work from him, it feels just as fresh and exciting. A 'WOAH' felt more than appropriate to start this post with.
Damien has been building up a steady portfolio of editorial work over the last few years, working for magazines such as Dazed & Confused, I.T Post, Commons & Sense, Purple Fashion and being a fashion editor for Mixte. He has collaborated with Bernhard Willhelm and worked for Pierre Hardy, Paule Ka, Stella Mc Cartney and Carven

More after the jump . . .

(all above images of Calvin Klein Collection for Dazed & Confused, styled by Robbie Spencer)

Describing himself as a photographer / collage artist, or a “Imagery Hand Maker”, Damien uses the camera to get raw materials for his subject, then works on cutting these up to transform the images into an incredibly refreshing and unique style of image.

While the narrow-minded could argue that this 'cut n' paste' technique is nothing new, his appreciation and understanding of form, figure and composition really do give his work a unique and beautiful approach not seen before in the fashion publishing industry. It gives me great pleasure seeing his work regurlarly used for editorials, when magazines seem to be increasingly shy of trying new approaches in terms of content. Remiscient of the work of Jean Paul Goude's cut ups, Damien's work is about more about creating an imageform with it's own identity that's seperate to the original photography.

Here's a small handful of interesting excerpts from interviews here, you'll have to forgive me for forgetting to write down the sources I got them from :-s

"It’s about collages. It’s also about bodies. I love the human body, every types, and I try to go underneath. I’m not the one who is looking at subjects, I would prefer to go in them, pushing their skin limits through the collage process. I try to turn a reality into my own fantasy, making it mine. Fetishistic in a way.

I’ve always been interested in images. I’ve started to play with a camera when I was very young. I was fascinated by my father’s little analog camera which seemed so complicate to use to me at that time. Later, I’ve started to buy fashion magazines as well as, secretly, vintage porn publications (the best way I found then to look at bodies). I was looking at them for hours.Years after, I had the chance to meet talented photographers. Looking at them working I’ve started thinking: “this is what I really want to do!¨ But I don’t really consider myself as a photographer. I feel I make images by hands more than taking pictures.

It’s about collages even if the final result is a photography. It’s also about bodies. Unique, I don’t know but personal probably. I’ve always been fascinated by bodies. I love the human body, every types, and I try to go underneath. I’m not the one who is looking at subjects, I would prefer to go in them, pushing their limits through the collage process. I try to turn a reality into my own fantasy, making it mine.

I follow the skin, the clothes, the bones, the muscles, the shape of face and body parts, all the silhouette aspects.
I need to be alone and let my hands start to do their work. It’s happening between the subject images and I. I try to translate or sum up what the subject told me or what I wish he could tell.

It’s about being alone most of the time."

New work by Tara Dougans

2011-06-21T01:44:00.000-07:00

Tara brings us yet more incredible work, illustrating this years Student Collections at the Elite Design Academy. Tara explained "I thought about all the talented people I have met who burn brightly, and the concept of ‘a moth to a flame,’"
SO beautiful, I love the muted tones and composition, Tara's work never fails to wow me.

Full article can be seen at Nowness

Video of Decoy Issue 2

2011-06-09T04:58:00.000-07:00

I thought I produce a quick video to show the contents of the issue! Make sure you put it onto hd mode if you can, mainly just because I hate blurry videos, and want to show off the great content.
Copies have been selling quite fast so there's a chance they could be sold out in a few weeks, get one while you can!

Patrick Nagel, the ultimate influential illustrator of the 80s?

2011-06-01T04:11:00.000-07:00

**Before I begin, I have to point out that I've included a lot of hard to find rare, commerical and Playboy illustrations by Nagel. A simple google search will bring you his most popular works in a matter of milliseconds, so I though it would be nice to pool together a big mix of lesser seen works, alongside one or two more iconic pieces**

The first thing ANYONE usually thinks when seeing Nagel's work, before even thinking of 'illustration', is simply "EIGHTIES"
While this would be considered by the less mindful to be a negative aspect, it shows just how much Nagel's style impacted the visual language of the era. If you go round east london you will see "fakel" illustrations (rip-offs) used in every other nail and hair bar. It has become completely synonymous with the high impact o.t.t glamour of that decade. Nagel is also the German translation for "nails", whether that has something to do with it too perhaps, I'm not sure.

More after the jump . . . .

Nagel probably painted less than 100 paintings on canvas. He was reticent to even paint on canvas, prefering instead to use artist board. He painted some of his images on canvas around 1981 until his death. I've included some examples of these rare works, borrowed from the AMAZING unofficial Patrick Nagel forum.
In addition to his paintings, Nagel created large-scale graphics silk-screened by hand. These were usually published in limited editions of ninety or fewer and are approximately three by four feet in size. Prior to or within several weeks of publication each of the graphic editions sold out. They include only the basic elements of graphics and are as luxurious and stunning as his paintings.
Fun fact: He designed a limited-edition serigraph for Joan Collins, whom Nagel felt had the look of his "women of the eighties": sophisticated and self-confident, a professional who was not afraid to be glamorous. She now owns five Nagel pieces.

In the early 80s he contributed an illustration for every single issue for the Playboy Advisor column. Multiple influences are at play in his work, Art Deco, the "finish fetish" sheen of California car detailing and Japanese woodcuts.
His flat tone gouache illustrations gave great consideration to proportion and shape, and the battle of reducing as much detail as possible (usually worked from photographs of models) until the image was as graphically simple and bold as possible.

To directly quote the official site: "His emergence as one of the gifted few stemmed from his unique vision of the contemporary woman. Handling color with rare originality and freedom, he continually simplified his designs to greater effect.
His work embodies the roots of early 20th century graphic design while giving shape to current trends in fashion and music."

Hia cover illustration for Duran Duran's wordlwide number 1 album Rio is immediately his most famous piece. Sushi Girl was likely the last work that Pat submitted for publication before his death. It graced the cover of Chicago magazine (containing an announcement of Pat's death inside) and has also gone on to become one of his most recognisable works, however the hand and chopsticks were removed and the version (seen above) is subsequently harder to find.
The unfortunate side to Nagel's iconic style was the inevitable slide of copycats. It was done to such an extent that it's now hard to see Nagel's work as original, fresh and unique if you weren't alive at the time. It's tragic how overlooked Nagel's work has become in favour of more timeless illustrators such as Gruau or Lopez. Make sure you check out the official Nagel site here, or buy a copy of the original Nagel book, you can pick up a second hand copy on Amazon for just a few pounds/dollars at the moment!

"Roxanne with racoons", quite probably his rudest piece for Playboy:

Two mirror designs (I NEED THESE)

Original illustrations available.

2011-05-03T11:57:00.000-07:00

Hello readers, I've decided to make some of my works available for private purchase. If you think you would be interested in purchasing a signed original piece, please email me (richard@richardkilroy.com) for a quote and I will try to keep prices reasonable, bearing in mind these are the original works, NOT a print. Make sure you refer to my site to see all works. www.richardkilroy.com

The illustrations available are:

8 x illustrations from the series "An Illustrated Look At Modern Menswear" for Ponystep

8 x illustrations from the series "The French Resistance" for Ponystep

3 x illustrations for Husk Magazine

2 x illustrations for I.T Post magazine.

illustrations in Hedi Slimane's California Boys

2011-04-28T12:06:00.000-07:00

The new issue of Man About Town is a beauty. Hedi was appointed the creative director for the whole issue and guest editor, so what are you getting is essentially a Hedi Slimane Book / Portfolio, which oozes his sleek aesthetic from every layout and image. Make sure you buy this, at £7 it's probably a little more than you would normally expect but totally worth it, it WILL be a collectable.

Anyway, I thought I would post these two illustrations featured in the editorial 'California Boys'. The illustrations are self-portraits by the model Brennen Steines.

Richard Gray

2011-04-16T03:03:00.001-07:00

I've long been a fan of Gray's work and thought it was about time I made a post on here. For anyone who might be confused, there are two Richard Grays in the industry. One is the supreme illustrator who I'm going on about here, and the other is a fantastically witty and amusing journalist for 10men magazine where he is the Fashion Features Director. I recommend everyone to follow both, but for this blog, I'm going with the aforementioned. I also need to point out and showcase how superhot and sexy his men's illustrations are, they deserve just as much attention as his women's illustrations and campaigns, of which he is more recognised for.

More after the jump . . . .

Gray had a special working relationship with the late Alexander McQueen and for his SS08 show La Dame Bleue, which was dedicated to Isabella Blow, Gray created a poster sized portrait of Blow which was used on the show's invitation. He also created work for McQueen for exhibitions Fashion at Belsay 2004 and the Black exhibition, also in 2004.
He recently contributed two illustrations to the V&A Museum, who presented a special collection of contemporary fashion illustration presented by The Fashion Illustration Gallery. They have since become part of the V&A’s permanent collection of fashion drawings, and a selection of the newly acquired illustrations will be featured in an upcoming book from V&A Publishing entitled Illustrating Fashion, which is currently being written by Abraham Thomas. This will be the first dedicated book on the V&A’s collection of fashion ‘illustration’ and will provide a summary of the topic through key examples of photography and drawing from the 18th century to the present, so keep your eyes peeled.

The thing I love about Gray's work is the polygonal aspect in which he treats his characters and the way that lines and shapes break up and balance the composition perfectly. Everything fits into place so well, he's a master at working from realist pencil to expressionist-style shapes and proportions, then creating something that combines both. His exotic and explosive use of colour is also something a lot of illustrators find difficult to do, something that can be likened to the photo montages of Matt Maitland(if you like Gray's use of colour, you'll definitely like his).

I'm going to look a little lazy by copying and pasting this interview I've come across, but it's worth a read and would be better than having me just trawl out the facts about his career!

Interview with Richard Gray - fashion illustration as a career
From the fundamentals of fashion design
by Richard Sorger & Jenny Udale

Please describe your job.
I am commissioned to create fashion illustrations according to the client's creative brief. The client can vary, from editorial - magazines and books - or could be a couture, pret-a-porter or high-street designer. I am expected to create a rough/line illustration initially, to showcase my ideas and in response to what I have been asked to do. If everyone involved is happy with this, I will then complete the finished artwork, all within a set time and deadline.

Who are your clients and/or who have you worked for?
The designers/clients I have worked for include: Alexander Mcqueen, Givenchy, Agent Provocateur, Vivienne Westwood, Miguel Adrover, Julien MacDonald, Kylie Minogue and William Baker, Boudicca, Oasis, Printemps.
Editorially, I have worked for Vogue Pelle, for Anna Piaggi's D.P. pages for Vogue Italia, V magazine, Madame Figaro, Flaunt, The Observer magazine, Vogue Gioiello, Los Angeles Times magazine, Sleek, The Independent on Saturday magazine, Mixte, Io Donna, Jalouse (USA), Entertainment Weekly, amongst many others.

What was your career path to your current job for?
I studied my degree in Fashion Design at Middlesex University, UK. During this period, I was entered for an illustration competition in Italy celebrating the great fashion illustrator Antonio Lopez. I didn't win, but I came fourth, and was invited to go to Milan to meet Anna Piaggi of Vogue Italia. From this meeting I was asked to create illustrations for her D.P. pages in Vogue Italia, and also for Vanity magazine. On graduating, these first commissions made it much easier to get other people to see my portfolio, and I pursued my interest in fashion illustration as a career from then on.

What do you do on an average day?
Each day can vary so much from the next, depending on the turnaround of deadlines and the amount of time between them. I could be researching ideas, creating initial concept sketches, or creating final artwork.

What are your normal working hours?
My average working day is probably between 12 and 15 hours, due to the turnaround of work for deadlines. It can, however, be much less than that, and occasionally be much more, and it isn't unknown to work right through the night if necessary to get work completed to deadline.
The flipside of this is that you can potentially also get several days off in a row if you are between commissions. Unless you have determinedly structured your life to be this way, the demands of the job means that it is unlikely to ever be 9 to 5, Monday to Friday.

What are the essential qualities needed for your job?
Creativity, the ability to understand a client's creative brief and what they are trying to achieve from your work, and the limitations or expectations of work created towards specific markets. Discipline to make sure that work is done to deadline, even if it means late nights.
The ability to sometimes think outside the brief, and to make sure that your personality still comes through in your work - the reason why you have been approached in the first place.

How creative a job do you have?
Very creative indeed. It's the whole reason a client will come to you.

What kind of team do you work with?
I do not have any team at all, there is nothing to delegate. Any ideas have to be drawn by me, and painting is done by myself. The nearest it comes to teamwork is obviously when the client gets in touch and they will be in contact with my agent, and I will then be given the creative brief by the art director of the client.

What is the best bit about your job?
The best part of my job is the unpredictability of the working year. The surprise and delight when designers or magazines you admire ask you to work with them, and the variation in commissions from one to the next. I think it helps that I have not restricted my career to one single style, so I have a lot of variety in what I am asked to do.

And the worst?
It sometimes feels like there are not enough hours in the day, but apart from that there is nothing to complain about.

Any advice you would give to someone wanting to get a job in your area of fashion?
I think illustration is a career that can be very fulfilling, but like all freelance careers there are no guarantees. Not all people will like what you do, as any art and illustration is such a subject form, so don't be put off if you find your work is not to everyone's tastes, but always listen to constructive criticism and know when to ignore it. Most of all, as important as it is to be creative it is i important to be reliable. The client wants the work done with as little fuss as possible. Everyone is busy, multi-tasking, with a million problems to solve everyday. If you make their life that little bit easier by completing your work for them to deadline, completely answering their creative brief, they are more likely to come back to you again.

ISSUE 2 AVAILABLE!!

2011-03-31T08:02:00.000-07:00

Click the paypal button on the right hand side of the screen to purchase!

Contents:

Cover artwork: Ricardo Fumanal

Si Scott interview & images

Tara Dougans: Exclusive illustration

Julie Verhoeven: Exclusive illustration

Ricardo Fumanal: Centrefold illustration & interview

Thom Browne article by Cillian O'Connor, exclusive illustration by Spiros Halaris

Richard Kilroy (myself) Gattaca Article with exclusive illustration

George Stavrinos article & illustrations

Jasper Goodall: interview & illustration

Limited edition of 300 copies.
Printed in large B&W tabloid format (slightly larger than A3)

Decoy issue 2 available in a few days

2011-03-29T08:06:00.000-07:00

And here is the official new cover!! Ricardo Fumanal's gorgeous illustrations grace the cover and the centrefold for a large fold out interview. Don't forget if you want emailing the moment it becomes available, request to be put on the mailing list, richard@richardkilroy.com

The illustrations of Aitor Throup

2011-03-08T07:07:00.001-08:00

Aitor's illustrations are incredibly refreshing when it comes to the idea of fashion illustration. They manage to balance the notions of being technical drawings and also being beautifully abstract artworks in their own right.

Aitor was originally attracted to fashion design through his love of drawing, he gained a first class honours in BA Fashion Design at Manchester Metropolitan University in 2004. Then, In 2006, he completed an MA Postgraduate Degree in Fashion Menswear at the Royal College of Art in London. Since then Aitor has gone on to lend his unique style for work with Umbro and C.P Company, and have his own presentations at London Fashion Week.
His unique characters express bizarre but brilliant bodily forms that verge on the surreal, yet always manage to purvey a sense of movement and appreciation for the human form. You can see in his actual clothing how these are brilliantly transcribed from illustration to actual clothing.

“The ‘tops’ (shirts, jackets, coats etc) I create are all cut from a pattern/block developed from my own sculptural pattern cutting process: First, I design a character in a specific pose; then, I create a miniature sculpture of the character, which I then cover in fabric, allowing the darts and seams to be dictated by the structure itself. So, all my shirts, jackets etc. look like generic garments at first, but on closer inspection, their construction lines are all equally distorted and seemingly misplaced.”

more after the jump . . . .

Trendy Fashion Illustrators

2011-02-24T18:58:00.001-08:00

'Trendy Fashion Illustrators' appears to have some really great content, better than most compilative fashion illustration books of late. The book is only available for preorder on amazon at the moment, but keep your eyes peeled for more info. Here are the only images I could find online, it's good to see Decoy favourites such as Sabine Pieper, Ricardo Fumanal and Laura Laine are featuring on it's pages.

Illustrations for Prada

2011-01-28T11:12:00.001-08:00

Prada, the key brand that continues to forward attitudes and approaches in fashion, has commissioned three illustrators for it's Spring Summer 2011 sunglasses range. The images, created by Ivo Bisignano, Marcela Gutierrez and Andrea Tarella - to created the campaign "Minimal-Baroque" for the limited edition 500 pairs. The images give off a great playful feel that ties in perfectly with the collection.

The release statement for the limited edition of sunglasses was as follow:
“Curves, friezes and bas-relief effects are the main design features of the Minimal-Baroque. The colour combinations: white/blue, white/black and white/honey with the choice of acetate, seamlessly coordinate the lines of the frame front and arms sculpted into rococo curls, whose decoration is the distinctive feature.”

Miuccia Prada, known for her avant garde attitude and the ability to make people expecte the unexpected, continually pushes the brand to the forefront of fashion. The last few seasons of lookbooks have also featured experiments in graphics and illustration, which emphasizes Prada's approach to creative freedom and exercise. Examples below.

Tara Dougans.

2011-01-19T05:05:00.000-08:00

Tara has produced an original illustration for Issue 2 of Decoy which will be a full A3 image, but I've realised I've yet to show her work on here. Showing a unique identity through her intense characters and a penchant to push herself by drawing heavily complicated patterns, the result is beautiful
.
I predict 2011 will be the year for Tara, it's fair to say that her illustrations stand out a mile with their presence and are immediately identifiable as one of her own. She's just started working on a new series of Galaxy influenced drawings, which you can check out on her site alongside her other work. Here are some of my personal favourites.

Issue 2

2011-01-13T05:05:00.001-08:00

Ok, so it will hopefully only be a matter of weeks now, until Decoy 2 is out. I know I've said this all along, but everything is now pretty much complete!

The content will be:

1. Interview with illustrator Si Scott, with illustrations

2. Exclusive full page illustration by Tara Dougans

3. Exclusive full page illustration by Julie Verhoeven

4. Centrefold interview with Ricardo Fumanal, showing his new work

5. Article on Thom Browne by Cillian O' Connor from Male-mode, exclusive illustration by Spiros Halaris

6. Article on the film Gattaca, with an original illustration by myself (richard kilroy)

7. double page feature on the work of 80s illustrator George Stavrinos

8. Exclusive interview with Jasper Goodall, about his new work, print shop and The Face magazine.

There will be a limited amount of 300 copies, posted worldwide, and with the involvement of such great illustrators and in A3 newspaper format, I can't imagine it being around for long! To be put on the mailing list email me, richard@richardkilroy.com and you'll be notified the moment it is available!

Serge Lutens

2010-12-01T08:50:00.000-08:00

The rare book of Serge Lutens work is available for over £300 on amazon, and with only one copy left, not many people are ever going to see it. However, there are scans available online that allow us to see the unique beauty and influential body of work that he produced as an image maker and art director.

Through his employment as Shiseido's image director in the 80s he produced some of his best work, and ended up going into his own house of perfumery: "Les Salons du Palais Royal"

I've included my favourite scans but there are so much more. Make sure you look him up

Chris Duffy

2010-11-17T07:21:00.000-08:00

Chris did an original illustration for the first issue of Decoy, but I though it would be worth posting his work on here in full colour. I love his colours and abstract doodles, very refreshing.
To see more go to his flickr HERE.