According to the Artists: Professional Fashion Illustrators' Views About Their Art Form

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to gather information and opinions from major contemporary fashion illustrators in order to enrich classroom teaching of the subject and to compensate for the void in literature about post-1960 artists and their work. Individualized letters were sent to artists, most of whom were producing advertising or editorial art for New York stores, designers, firms, or publications. The artists were asked to respond to two pages of open-ended questions about their careers and other fashion illustration topics. Fifty-five artists replied in written form regarding their educational and professional experiences, suggestions for content and teaching approach in a beginning fashion illustration course, sources of poses, preferred artists' tools and media, and work setting. They also assessed the dominance of fashion photography over illustration in editorial portions of fashion magazines such as Vogue and Harper's Bazaar and cited current trends and influences. in fashion art. The quantity and time span of the artists' responses produced a chronological overview of fashion illustration trends from the late 1960s to the present, together with speculations about future use and status of fashion illustration.