Fashion Visualization
- Author Rekha Jairath
A Fashion illustration is a form of art which renders designers imagination and style into a
visual. It is in vivid forms and styles where one can be extremely realistic and very precise,
or have a contemporary take . Illustration is the only medium for a designer or artist to
express his/her creativity and keep it visually available to follow it in to real garments or
piece of work. With changing technology fashion illustration has seen a great shift in last
one decade.
Fashion Illustration has been around for many years. Ever since clothes have been in
existence, and there has been a need to translate an idea or image into a physical form for
any individual or buyer to visually understand the garment and order the same.
Not only do fashion illustrations show a representation or design of a garment but they also
serve as a form of art.
Fashion illustration is the transmission of fashion through a diagram; it is the visual aid
through which the design is explained in the fashion magazines and fashion illustrators.
If the illustration is to help a buyer visualize the collection or a garment, the drawing should
be accurate to proportion, colour and fabric.
If it’s a illustration more for the mood, style, advertisement, a visual message, visual aid or
then the drawing can be less literal and more to have a direction.
An internationally acclaimed Illustrator, Executive Vice President Artistic Development,
Member of Advisory Board, Academy of Art University, Artistic Development mentions –
“The key to Fashion Illustration is Illustration — not Fashion.” – Gladys Perint Palmer”
The various illustrations defining fashion are not only used as an art piece to educate the
budding designers, instead they also contribute to be the front page of leading fashion
magazines. Thus, it could be known about what importance does a fashion illustration play
in conveying the new trend in the market. The different illustration or even one single
illustration could be made by using the numerous mediums like pencil, pen, ink, charcoal,
water color, Polaroid film, etc. All these materials are used to make the illustration sharper and next to real to make sure that it conveys the style in its best sense. Some fashion
illustrations are also drawn combined with celebrity portrait so that they have another
marketing matter for publicity.
Fashion illustration is something that requires expert hands without which the illustration
could not be presented in its best form. For an illustration to speak in words, it is very
important to draw in such a way in which each and every prospective of the illustration
should look real, including the hair, facial expressions, body shape. All these factors play a
very important role in making the illustration look real, presentable, and more attractive.
Fashion Illustration has gone from being one of the sole means of fashion communication to
having a very minor role. The first photographic cover of Vogue was a watershed in the
history of fashion illustration and a watershed mark of its decline. Photographs, no matter
how altered or retouched, will always have some association with reality and by association
truth. I like to think of them [fashion Illustrations] as prose poems and having more fictional
narratives. They are more obviously filtered through an individual vision than photos.
It has not always been the case, though. In the early 20th century, fashion illustration was
far different from its present-day version. Fashion itself was for the wealthy, and, as there
was little photography, illustration was the only way to show the designs in question.
Clothes tended towards the stiff, formal and tailor-made, as did the accompanying
illustrations.
Also, there was a change in fashion style itself. Coco Chanel, for example, led the march
toward the famous ‘little black dress’, again a million miles away from the stiff, corseted
days before the 1920s.
Designers are wonderful, creative beings who envision fascinating new ways to create
identity through clothing. Drawing is the tool that facilitates communication between
fashion visionaries and their support team of patternmakers,production people,sales
force,and executives.drawing also enthralls those who can help introduce and market
design ideas to the wolrd,namely the press,store buyers,backers,and so on.on the other
hand,a poor drawing can generates problem all down these lines of cummunication.
Designers may know an idea is great but without good dawning, no one else can visualize it.
Designers who have the power to communicate visually have an enormous advantage in the work world. Beyond the surface appearance of recycled trends, fashion is also a cultural
production that both reflects and affects society. Awareness of this deeper significance can
enhance the design process and raise the sophistication level of visual critique. Design and
drawing are inseparably connected and build on each other.
It is a wonderful thought that in these times of rationality, there is still a time and place for
the imagination and possibility of illustration. Rather than photo reality, megapixels and
polygons, illustration makes a virtue of line and shade, detail and concealment. This is
especially true of fashion illustration.
The world of fashion thrives at the cutting edge, inspiring illustrators to produce particularly
fresh, innovative graphics. Not only must this work be particularly eye-catching, it must also
connect with the viewer, encouraging desire and aspiration. Fashion illustration is not
necessarily about the hard sell of clothes, or their literal depiction. Rather, it is about setting
a tone or mood, which is often achieved by careful control of what elements within a
composition are shown in detail, with others appearing merely as a sketch. Fashion
illustration is often a contrast of detail and the lack of detail.
The Future of Fashion Illustration
“The impact of ever-more portable technology on the fashion industry has made itself
obvious in terms of both wearable gadgetry and changes to design and productions
methods. Its impact on the fashion illustration scene, however, has been of a more subtle
and individual nature…”
Aenasha sketch
Author for the article – Ms. Rekha Jairath