AMELIE HEGARDT

Amelie Hegardt is a Swedish fashion illustration who has moved from one country to another such as Milan, Paris, Beijing, and New York to gain experiences. And now she has her own studio and lived in London. She was graduated from Stockholm university and Saint Martins. In 2006 she started her career and has become one of nine selected illustrators of blackbook magazine and  it was her first big break. Her artistic and evocative work have recently used by a worldwide clients such as Vogue Japan, Mac Cosmetics, Sephora and Harrods. She has also worked with interiors and home wares with designer Mimou and she created a series of gorgeous illustrations that were transformed into wallpaper and pillowcase sets. But most of her commercial experiences focuses on the industry of fashion and beauty. Here are some of the incredible work of hers:

She has her own style of works which invokes feelings of intimacy and suspicion. Most of her works are reflected to the physical nature of her work, such as shapes that bleed into the paper and plastic is crudely attached onto sketches.Infused with splash of luminous color, Amelie's use of bleeding ink,and watercolor conjures a near ethereal point of view. Her tightly rendered, sensual and timeless imagery reflects in most of her works. Fashion silhouettes from 1920s flapper years through hipster 1960's also became her inspiration in drawing . Her beautiful face and inflection of her personal style are often found within her work. Mostly characterized by women with blushing cheeks which really shows her characteristic. I really love her style of drawing with that messiness and the elegant silhouettes , also its splash effect which reflect an artistic look in her illustration. 

If you curious to see more of her work, you can visit her personal blog atAMELIEHEGARDT.TUMBLR.COM

Lula: HERSELF Magazine

Lula and HERSELF magazine has became favourites of the most influential personalities in the industry, as the likes of Anna Dello Russo, Carine Roitfeld, or Giovanna Battaglia, thanks to her authentic passion for fashion which sets her and her magazine apart.  It is not clear as to who created Lula alive, as the author wanted to keep his or her anonymity intact, thus giving life to Lula.

Lula is a character the whole fashion world is crazy about. With her slender figure, flowing brown hair and dreamlike wardrobe, who would not just love her? I, myself, am included. I've been buying Lula HERSELF Magazine for quite some time now. The illustrated fashion girl, Lula, always beautifully graces the pages of the magazine alongside fellow fashion celebrities or just celebrities who are happening. The character of HERSELF magazine is that it is an entirely illustrated biannual fashion magazine headed by an illustrated editor, which is the character Lula herself. The magazine celebrates the staggering power of fashion, starting from the beauty and seasonality of its clothes, the overwhelming status of brands, the never-ending fascination with celebrity and icons. Its illustrated format allows for the setting of its pages to break boundaries of time and space, literally travelling everywhere. Talking to legends, fairytale princesses, HERSELF recognises in them the contemporary taste for endless possibilities.

Lula is my favorite illustration character because she has her own personality. She is like a living person with interests of her own, erasing limitations of what she could be. Her lines are raw. Her lines are her own. Her lines are what make her. Lula's creator is a definite genius who successfully built an empire out of an imaginary character. That is why I like Lula.

To check out more of this favourite illustrated chic fashionista with infinite wardrobe budget of mine, Lula. 

Sunny Gu

Sunny Gu was born in 21st April. She was a Los Angeles-based fashion & beauty illustrator. She was born and raised in China, but then she moved to the United States when she was 13. She started painting and drawing as a hobby. She graduated from B.F.A Otis Collage of Art and Design, she also graduated with honours. As she grew, she encountered people from various of backgrounds, this triggered her curiosity for other cultures. Becoming an illustrator is her dream career, it can become a part of things in so many different ways from editorial, printed garments, decorations, packing design or serves a product campaign. 

Most of her illustrations paint in water-colour. She love the vibrancy and unpredictable nature of water-colour. Occasionally she use graphite or acrylic paint to render some special textures, and also create digital art for surface design and textiles. That is why, all her illustrations are always full of vibrant colours, rich details, and delightful feelings. Her drawing give an impression that like watching an animation of a fashion runway rather than exploring a picture.
She always wishes to find a way to capture and preserve the beauties that she sees, the kindness that she feels, and recreate them in someway. 

All of her clients including Condé Nast, Vogue Magazine, Teen Vogue, Bloomingdales, Macy's, Nordstorm, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana's Swide Magazine, Brian Atwood, South Coast Plaza, Beverly Centre, The Grove, Shiseido, Neutrogena, and HBO among others. She always drawn by fascinating craftsmanship, unique vision, elegant silhouettes, interesting textures, fun color combinations and floral prints. The most inspiring aspects of fashion is that it’s always changing and renewing, it’s about evolution and regenerate designs inspired from a variety of sources. Fashion is timeless. it was the reason why she makes certain designer find her and certain aspects of fashion that inspire her work and makes her to create an artwork. 

Paper Fashion: Katie Rodgers

Katie Rodgers is one of my most favorite fashion illustrators. She began painting using watercolors at age seven. Nearly two decades later, the pastime has become her livelihood. Growing up, Rodgers painted whimsical runway scenes and ladies outfitted in Balenciaga and Dior, a passion she revisited in 2009, when she launched the stylish illustration blog, Paper Fashion, to showcase her work.

Big industries were quick to notice the artist. Coach tapped Rodgers to illustrate its holiday campaign and paint limited-edition bags by hand later that year, while Missoni and Target asked her to sketch models wearing coveted pieces from their collaboration.

Rodgers’s blossoming freelance career convinced her to leave her full-time job as an apparel designer at Reebok earlier this year to focus on her art full time. “I’ve been sketching fashion ever since I can remember,” says Rodgers, who recently began selling stationery and iPhone cases emblazoned with images of Chloé and Dior dresses on the website Society6. “It never gets old to me. I’ve managed to discover what I love to do, and how to do it for a living.”

In addition to her online sales and commission work, the 26-year-old hopes to branch out into wallpaper and other fashion-inspired goods, keeping with the family tradition started by her great-grandfather, who was also an illustrator. “My work is done almost exactly how [he] did it—by hand,” she says. “In such a digital age, it’s nice to know there are still some things that can only be created that way.”

Katie Rodgers' favorite medium for drawing is pencil, watercolor and ink. She also likes working with pantone markers as well for more technical illustrations. However, watercolor and mixed media, especially glitter, has been Rodgers' trademark which I have noticed by following her on Instagram. She is definitely one of those artistic illustrators I cannot stop scrolling their blog down on. Here are some of my favorites from her work.

Igor + Andre

Igor + Andre is definitely one of the best fashion illustration blogs I have ever encountered. If you follow the world of fashion blogging, you would have probably seen some of Danny Roberts' works. The Igor + Andre blog was created in 2008 by Danny and David Roberts as a means of distributing the beauty in Danny's art. During the time, Danny was still a student at the Academy of Art University studying fashion design. While he was there, a teacher pushed him on to pursue a career in fashion illustrating. Since then, Danny centered his focus point almost exclusively on learning drawing and painting. Thus, the blog found its purpose as Danny and David's platform to share their various creative projects with the world.

Danny's Blogger Portrait Series is actually quite well-known. He has even worked with Forever 21, Harajuku Lovers, Lancome, Tiffany & Company, IMG Models, and W Hotels to name a few. Dedication does pay off, as Danny once said "I would draw some days for 15 hours straight till my hands were swollen shut."

Danny Roberts is the half creator of Igor + Andre. He is a visual artist who portrays the high end scene with wit and whimsy. He is known for his signature stylish portraits of famous fashion world-related people and models which offer a fresh take on fashion's vision of perfection. He was honored by being awarded the first featured portfolio of the year on WGSN Generation Now, which showcases graduating talent from the world's leading universities and design colleges. His body of work is mainly a showcase of couture collection paintings and portraits of models. He has already been featured several times in top fashion publications' pages worldwide, in the likes of Vogue Italia, Vogue Paris, and Vogue Japan, to name a few. David Robert is the other half creator of Igor + Andre and he is in charge of dealing with business issues for his brother's creative imagination artwork dealings.

KELLY SMITH

This week I have found another amazing fashion illustrator, her name is Kelly smith. She is a freelance illustrator who is based in Tasmania, Australia.  After she was graduated from The Tasmanian School of Art in 2006 with the Bachelor of Fine Arts, she decided to establish her dream as a freelance illustrator. Since then, she has sky-rocketed to stardom by working with some local and international world-known clients including Vogue Australia, Vice magazine, Mambo Goddess and General Pants co. She was also featured in some editions of Vogue Australia, Shop till you drop, and many other clients' publication media. Because of her passion in fashion, she then continued her career as an illustrator specialized in both portraiture & fashion illustration. Because of her desire in film & fairytale, she always took inspiration from those two subjects to keep on fueling her source of creativity, Kelly's work of art is always a spectacle in itself. Based with pencil strokes and keeping those until the final touches of her illustration, her work has its own trademark. Her fine detailed pencil work captures a likeness to her subjects, either they are objects or people whom she found inspiring. Traditionally and initially created on one layer, Kelly Smith adds in water color to give it a touch of soft translucent color shade without diminishing the effect of her original pencil strokes. Later on, she digitally edits her work by adding subtle hints of color and softness.

In a recent interview, Kelly Smith was asked to give tips on how to be an established illustrator. Her answer was that you had to "... be true to your own style...". It can be tempting to try to mould yourself into what you think you should be or mimic a successful artist. But people will always respond to work that's unique, so embrace that. I learned that I would have to create a style that is entirely my own if I want to pursue a career as an illustrator. Kelly also said that submitting work to as many competitions and call-outs is as essential as well because it would challenge us to be better and better as we are fueled with the feedback and exposure those would offer us with.

Pippa McManus

I first stumbled upon Pippa McManus' intricately detailed illustration from Mary Katrantzou's Facebook page when she won one of the brand's illustration competition by recreating a dress from its Autumn Winter 2012 Ready-to-Wear collection. This Perth-based Australian grew with art surrounding her life. Pippa's father is an engraver and her mother is an artist. However, her passion in fashion design and illustrating came about when her 14-year-old self bought her first copy of Paris Vogue. Then, she started illustrating and even designing clothes for her friends. As of now, well-known brands such as Mary Katrantzou, Giorgio Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Wildfox, and Steve Madden have all incorporated Pippa's illustration work to market their products.

"I try not to look to other artists for style; I believe that is truly something you have to work at on your own.  If you are a visual person you tend to be influenced by other people's work, so I look to fashion design instead of art and I chat to the gorgeous people at Jackson’s about what medium I should try next.  It really is something you have to work at solidly by yourself and I have learnt that through the mistakes you make whilst finding your way; they are sometimes the things that end up defining your style.", said Pippa when she was asked what influence she had on shaping her style to what it is now. I can learn that sometimes looking to other artists for style may not be good in shaping a sturdy and unique personal style of my own. Thus, I have to start looking at things through my own perceiving and interpret objects I want to incorporate into my art work in a style of my own, not influenced by any other artists. A lot of practice would be needed before I can achieve a high standard of my own style.

Here are some of my favourites of Pippa McManus' illustrations.