Fashion illustration news and archive

Fida Awards 22 ceremony recognizes the best in contemporary fashion illustration

This year's Fida Awards ceremony took place at Conde Nast College of Fashion and Design in London last Tuesday, only its second live awards event in the organization's four year history due to pandemic disruption. Simultaneously shown via Zoom to all the international members who couldn’t be present the event was introduced by co-founder Patrick...

Culture |Interview Featured

Iconic 70s model Debbie Dickinson curates fashion and art in Manhattan exhibit

“It truly was by fluke,” says Debbie Dickinson of her entry into the modeling industry in the mid-70s. She had moved to NYC with the goal of becoming an actor, her mind filled with dreams of Broadway, but that all changed when scouts visiting from a Paris model agency spotted her and offered to fly her to France. “The day I landed I worked with...

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Fashion illustration and luxury Italian craftsmanship merge in Fida's Rodisegno prize

In a move that Fida founder, Patrick Morgan, describes as “the start of a journey and partnership between artist and artisan,” the Fashion Illustration and Digital Arts community and Italian accessory house, Rodo, collaborated to create the “Rodisegno Prize - Drawing an Icon.” The competition is a result of Fida’s aim to promote excellence in...

People |Interview Featured

Meet the NYC illustrator who sketches at Paris Haute Couture shows

There’s no denying Elly Azizian, who illustrates under the moniker Fashion Strokes, has an impressive client list: Van Cleef & Arpels, Oscar de la Renta, Valentino and Sotheby’s to name a few. Nevertheless it is quite a rarity in modern times to be flown to Paris to sketch inside the elite environment of haute couture where the one-off handmade...

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No need to live in a fashion capital, says successful Detroit fashion illustrator

Nicole Jarecz rejects the idea that you need to reside in one of the world's fashion capitals in order to make a successful career as an illustrator. Although she sampled a slice of life in Paris for six years, Jarecz is Detroit-based and has never been busier. Illustration is her sole line of work which she splits between doing commission...

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Halston's legacy inspires the future of fashion on his 90th birthday

The family of late designer Halston, along with the team behind WithLoveHalston.org hosted an afternoon of fashion, art and anecdotes last Sunday in New York City to honor what would have been the designer’s 90th birthday. Fashion luminaries such as Fern Mallis, Ken Downing, designers Ralph Rucci, Naeem Khan, and jeweler David Yurman, were on...

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Barbara Hulanicki illustration exhibit opens in Miami

There are few more ardent observers of the evolution of female beauty than Barbara Hulanicki OBE whose doe-eyed, gangly limbed Biba Girl is as imprinted in our culture as Botticelli’s Venus. Think of Twiggy with her long lashes and pixie cut, the face of the Sixties youthquake and long term friend of Hulanicki's. The Biba store which opened in...

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Drawing on Style; fashion illustration exhibits in NYC fine art space

London-based fashion illustration gallery Gray M.C.A has brought a capsule of their lauded 2021 Drawing on Style exhibition to New York City. Hosted by Didier Aaron gallery, as part of the Master Drawings New York event, and running for one week only, the show features work by contemporary illustrators such as David Downton, Jason Brooks and Bil...

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Fashion Illustration and Drawing Awards names its top illustrators of 2021

Fida has announced the winners of the 4th Fashion Illustration Drawing Awards live on Instagram after evaluating over 1000 entries from across the globe. The panel of judges included master classical fashion illustrator, David Downton; Selfridges Art Director, Shawn Davey; leading contemporary fashion illustrator, Stina Persson; fashion...

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Dismantling the Eurocentric worldview behind fashion illustration teaching

As many schools take steps to guarantee diversity among staff and student body so that classrooms are reflective of society at large, one area of fashion education continues to undermine these efforts yet eludes scrutiny: the fashion illustration curriculum. The evaluation of fashion illustration has remained unchanged for more than a century....

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Istituto Marangoni and Fida to stage fashion illustration show during Miami Swim

Fida, the Fashion Illustration and Drawing Awards, is launching its first Fashion Arts Summer Exhibition which will be hosted by Istituto Marangoni Miami during the upcoming Miami Swim week. The school’s Billboard Building, designed by Shulman + Associates, in the city’s Design District, is celebrated for its blend of traditional and...

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Leading fashion illustrator Nuno Da Costa discusses his success

Nuno Da Costa is the fashion illustrator’s illustrator, commanding respect in an industry that has arguably prized the camera over the paintbrush since photography emerged over a century ago. His style, a mixture of craftsmanship, fantasy, and judicious use of technology, is immediately recognizable yet he attended none of the top fashion...