100 Years of Fashion Illustration...

I don't know about you, but I have always loved the old Vogue magazine covers, and advertisements therein, that were done as illustrations, rather than photographs.  For that reason, this book is one of my favorites because it is just chock-a-block full of beautiful colored illustrations from fashion magazines from 1900-1975 and beyond.  

"Througout history many artists have shown a fascination with dress:  Durer, Holbein, Watteau and Ingres all executed exquisite drawings of the fashions of their time.   Photography, one of the great inventions of the nineteenth century, was generally held responsible for the demise of illustration by the Second World War, yet it too was influenced by fashion illustration, as is demonstrated in early examples by the stiff poses against studio prop backgrounds that mimic those in contemporary plates.

By the 1950s fashion editors were investing more of their budgets for editorial spreads in photography.  The subsequent promotion of the fashion photographer to celebrity status meant that illustrators had to be content with working on articles for lingerie or accessories, or in advertising campaigns such as those Rene Gruau did for Christian Dior perfumes."

Here's just a few of the illustrations from the book that I find so beautifully presented: 

Amazon describes this book by saying, "A visual feast of 400 dazzling images, this is a comprehensive survey of the genre over the last century. The book also offers an overview of the development of fashion, as seen through the eyes of the greatest illustrators of the day. Early in the century fashion illustration reflected new, liberating currents in art and culture, such as the exoticism of the Ballets Russes, while the postwar period saw inspiration from the great Parisian couturiers. After the dominance of the celebrity fashion photographer in the '60s, a new generation of illustrators emerged, embracing the medium of the computer, while many returned to more traditional techniques."

Paperback: 384 pages

Publisher: Laurence King Publishers (April 19, 2007)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1856694623

ISBN-13: 978-1856694629

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