Gina Speed
Those beautiful clothes have got to start somewhere! Fashion illustration is the art of communicating ideas with sketches as stylish as the clothes. Illustrators are highly underrated in my book. Photographers tend to get more exposure in the fashion world these days. However, illustrations are making a big comeback. Be sure to check out our magazine cover art feature where Sharpies and paint pens ignite! We picked our 2 favorite illustrators to showcase here. Check them out!
Pippa McManus
Looking for the perfect print to hang in your home? Pippa McManus is easily one of Australia’s best fashion illustrators. She has worked for the fashion industry elite throughout most of her career and has an impressive little resume. We’re happy to report Pippa is now doing fashion illustration privately and has the good sense to contribute to charities, too. She is considered to be one of the world’s 25 best figurative female artists. We concur!
Fashion Illustration Does What No Model Can Do
What I love most about Pippa’s work is how she combines the delicacy of line art with bold strokes of paint color. A good fashion illustration balances a sense of attitude with an untouchable beauty. In addition, the clothes and accessories need to be the attention grabber. Her girls are totally modern day princesses. Statement jewelry, crowns of any sort, and richly detailed fabric colors make us want to say, “Let them eat cake!”
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More Pippa
For more illustrations, be sure to check out Pippa’s Instagram @lepip. We are delighted to report she has many prints and originals also for sale via her website. Fashion illustration is a meticulous brand of art and should be treated as such. Her originals are a combination of acrylic, charcoal, paint pens, soft pastel and spray paint on canvas. Yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes!
Total Inspiration
It’s always nice to have a total girly area in your home. A place where you can retreat to pretty up, or just plain celebrate girl power. A fabulous fashion illustration totally hits the mark and inspires you to keep being beautiful! Illustrations especially are like a page from a fairy tale. Except this fairy tale princess hits up festivals and doesn’t kiss frogs.
Blair Breitenstein
Blair’s girls put on their make up kind of like I do. There’s a lot of pencils and smudging going on. Ha! Her illustrations are considered to be an expressionist take on contemporary high fashion. Prada, McQueen, Louis Vuitton, Christian Louboutin and others have jumped on the fashion illustration bandwagon. And Blair is driving! You can find her work in fashion magazines if you’re lucky.
Quirky and Abstract
Blair layers water colors with messy smudged lines to create similar balance between delicate and strong. Fashion illustration favorites combine that essential mix of yin and yang. She describes her process as spontaneous and uses water color and a small sketchbook. I am currently in the middle of watching the Netflix documentary, Abstract: The Art of Design. The illustrator in the first episode (Christopher Neimann) uses one of my favorite quotes of the month. “Inspiration is for amateurs. Us professionals, we just go to work in the morning. (-Chuck Close)” Blair embodies this creative work ethic.
Follow, Like, Stalk, Whatever
Also lovingly known as @blairz, we’ve been following her Instagram for quite some time. Blair also sells her fashion illustration prints on high-quality, heavyweight paper via her online shop. You can check out her latest creations on her website. Take a cue from our gallery wall article and dot an empty space with a few of these babies!
Don’t Tap Those Fake Prada Shoes at ME, Honey
I also love Blair’s unabashed use of high fashion labels and iconic accessories throughout her work. Gucci has been making our eyes pop these days and her fashion illustration style is in total harmony! She uses branding in a fun and flamboyant manner that speaks to my heart.
For the Diva in All of Us
Blair uses fashion illustration to depict what we all see in the mirror on our best days. Big glasses and pouty down-turned lips are magically sketched and colored. Forget meticulous makeup. Thick eyebrows, smudged eyeliner and lip liner rule the world. I absolutely LOVE seeing the fashion world through Blair’s artistic eyes. Ten times better than a photo and 100 times better than real life!
Get Out into the Art World!
Admittedly, I need to get myself into more art galleries these days. Fashion illustration is just a smidgen of what the art world has to offer. We’ll keep looking and will bring you our favorite artists and photographers as much as possible. Be sure to get your email on our list to get new articles directly to your inbox. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook for more photos we couldn’t fit in our articles. We’ll also let you know about special deals and promo codes from our friends and affiliates. Super easy for you, means a lot to us. xox