The Great Come Back of Fashion Illustrators

When haute couture was launched back in the 1950’s no respected designer could do without an artist to sketch his or her creation in refined water colors or vigorous carbon pencils. As technology to capture images evolved photography took over and fashion illustrators took a back seat becoming part and parcel of the creation process but left out of any marketing exercise.

Not any more!! The fashion website Showstudio launched at gallery 8 on Duke Street an exhibition on fashion illustration covering the last 80 years of the métier. The exhibition dubbed «Drawing with Style« has unveiled a new arts trade: that of fashion drawings.

Indeed, modern interior design with its penchant for minimalism has increasingly resorted to fashion illustrators to create an ambiance of elegance and refinement while keeping the facility stylishly and understated. This new approach to art and decoration percolates from the millennial culture that attaches value to every artistic expression linked to value creating activities.

Millennials further believe that illustrations and photography capture part of life and that life should be the source of inspiration for every human endeavor. Consequently, everything that reminds the joy of life like fashion is particularly appreciated by these demographics.

This has created a new avenue for art trade that has valued a René Gruau drawing recently sold at Christies at $ 104,000. Gruau worked for Lanvin, Balmain and Dior and was the creator of the swan style drawings that defined glamour in the 1950s. This trend is projected to continue nurtured by young millionaires from Asia and Latin America. Some experts dare to predict that the market for fashion illustrations could reach US $ 500M benchmark by 2020.

From the practical viewpoint this trend will also revalue the role played by fashion illustrators in designing and packaging high end products. Demand for their services has already hiked the average entry salary from 63,000 to $68,0000. Tops designers are close to the one million benchmark while increasing their revenues sources with intellectual property rights sold to advertisers; movie producers and other content creators. This could well bring the yearly compensation of top fashion illustrators to US 3.M. This again is yet another sign that fashion illustrators will rise in importance in the luxury value chain and perhaps could even with time reach the same startus as designers.