RENE GRUAU

Rene Gruau, master of fashion illustration was born in Italy in 1909 of an aristocraic Italian father and a French mother, Marie Gauau, whose name he took. He settled in Paris in 1924 and embarked on his career as a fashion illustrator. His earliest drawing were published in Italy, Germany and England.

While in his young teen years, he managed to sell some of his fashion sketches to magazines in France, Germany and Italy in 1923. He there upon took the maiden name of his artist mother, Gruau, and reinvented himself as Rene Gruau. His mother introduced him to painters and fashion magazine editors who encouraged him to pursue his craft. At the age of 15, he already had a promising career as a fashion illustrator awaiting him.

During the post-war period, he reached the summit of his career as he worked with the most brilliant fashion designers such as Dior, Givenchy and Lanvin, and high class music-halls such as the Moulin Rouge and the Lido - clients whom he continued to work with later on. He also designed costumes and sets for the ballet. By 1940 his drawings appeared in Marie Clarie, Femina and L’Officiel. In 1948, he left for the United States to work for Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue, before becoming the exclusive artist for Flair.

His art is characterised by his fluid, expressive, and seemingly effortless lines, and by his ability to distill his subjects to their essence for maximum effect - a mouth, a coiffure, a gesture, the structure of a garment is each described so convincingly, and with such graceful economy of means.

Later in his career, he devoted himself to the promotion of fashion accessories, for example, perfumes. He also worked with cosmetic houses, fabric manufacturers, and ready to wear clothing couturiers. Then in 1956, with his posters for Moulin Rouge and Lito, He would storm the Paris fashion scene with his most well known advertisement campaigns, created for Schu-Schu perfume by Schuberth and Bemberg’s fabric manufacturers. A fashion innovator definitely worth commemorating, Gruau’s fashion ascendancy and augmentations can still be seen all over the world.

CEDRIC RIVRAIN

Cedric Rivrain is a famous fashion illustrator and artist from Paris. He has been drawing since the age of 18 and has illustrated and designed for prestigious fashion houses including John Galliano, Martine Sitbon and Yazbukey.

He spent most of his youth at a boarding school in the centre of France, his first drawing was of his mother, a particularly stylish woman who introduced him to fashion. 

His first illustration was actually a double spread for Dazed and confused. Her friend, Yaz Bukey, the jewellery and accessories designer, was offered this double spread to express herself. She liked his personal drawings and thought it would be a more poetic way to introduce herself to have drawing of her fantasy world. That is how he started.

The significance the anatomical plays for him can be seen in the band-aids adorning some of his subjects, it’s all that is covering their bodies of faces, as he nudes over designer clothing. Through bandage and dissection he distances himself from fashion to uncover its inherent beauty. Like most of his work, the book’s illustrations largely grow out of his childhood fascinations- cartoons, anatomy, and, of course, eyes.

Now the focus of his work, he has dedicated much of the book to eyes- specifically, mechanical eyes. He said drawings were better when you find the perfect emotion in the eyes could give emotion. His work is drop dead gorgeous and the way he draws jewellery and shoes is absolutely beautiful. 

The book combines his fashion illustrations, like images of Pivovarova in Balenciaga and Prada, with captivating nudes and chilling crying contraptions. And he think fashion illustration brings some poetry back to the commercial fashion world. It was something authentic and fashion images are all so digital now and with illustration. Rivrain’s book is not lacking in authenticity.

NADIA FLOWER

Nadia Flower is a mixed-media contemporary artist who creates art for clients all over the world. She works with both hand-drawn and digital patterns and paintings which was from excellent fine art painting to textiles, fashion and costumes, also neat illustration for the perspective and advertise markets. Nadia is inspired by her surroundings, a love of Tokyo, and all things kawaii. Her clients include Lily Allen, Nylon Magazine, Coca-Cola UK and Saatchi AUS.

She has always been a drawer since she was very young and really never thought of being anything else but an artist of some sort. She studied a Bachelor degree of Fine Arts majoring in design from Elam University in New Zealand. After that she wet to London to pursue her dream Fashion designer. From then she started doing illustrations and she most probably liked to work with Fashion Industry only. She offers her creativity to clients all around the world incorporating vector work, watercolour and even type design. she has appeared in group exhibitions and book publications in Australia, Tokyo and the United States. Her work is gentle and fragile, but graphically powerful. Her illustrations are a mix of pastels, watercolours and girly girl fashion.

Nadia created her delicate graphical illustration for Bourjois’s advertising campaign 2010. Those designs were commissioned by surprise agency Talents Only in Paris, France. Elegant illustration made by her was found in magazines of 2010 and also displayed for sales in some shops. Her design for Bourjois’s advertise was really appreciated. Her recently completed work is for ASOS in which she illustrated a variety of perfume bottles and her interpretation of their scents emerging from the bottles. She was given complete freedom which allowed to express her creative talents to the fullest. 

Nadia’s Portfolio Pictures are completely line, graphic, attractive, animals, mode, cosmetics, landscape, and romanticism. Her illustrations are very smooth and sharp.

THIRI YADANAR@TIFFANY 

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