March 16th, 2011
Luck of the Draw
Anyone with a cellphone can document a runway show. But as Laird Borrelli, author of Fashion Illustration by Fashion Designers, noted in The New York Times, “An illustrator can capture its poetry, document its mood or energy — those are subtle things that evoke something more than mere attendance.”
As fashion illustration continues it journey back into mainstream media, we are drawn to the work of Toronto artist Monica Smiley. An alumna of Ryerson’s School of Fashion, we love her high fashion series of stick thin models in cheetah print boots, palazzo pants and decadent ruffled ball gowns.
Smiley’s whimsical artworks appear on rich, fabric-like paper and are coupled with humorous, inspiring words from the likes of Bill Blass, Cecil Beaton and Sophia Loren.
“A woman’s dress should be like a barbed-wire fence: serving its purpose without obstructing the view.” —AT
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