Verhoeven and Versace.

Julie Verhoeven has developed a cult following for her whimsical fashion illustration style and for spring/summer 2009, Donatella Versace commissioned her to rework the Versace iconography. The result was colourful, cartoonish Medusa's scrawled across bags, gowns, and swimwear.

From what I have seen Julie Verhoeven's work always has an extremely interesting point of view, if not a little strange or possibly unique. I've studied her work in the past and It's never really spoken to me as something I genuinely like, but while researching her deeper (because I really do want to like her) I found the Versace Spring collection from 2009 and you know what I may be converted. To be quite honest I've never really like much of Versace's collections either, though this one has completely changed my view on them. I find the colours beautifully vivid in tone but with pastel flashes which in turn create a more calm background for the cartoon Medusa's.

In my opinion these garments which are pieces of art in there own right and I would feel nervous wearing one because there is just so much going on in each piece ( as well as that I'm incredibly clumsy and tend to spill stuff all the time!) I feel the mood of these walking works of art is almost ocean and seas because if you look closely at the photographs above the the structure of the blue gown and how the fabric cascades down to the floor its almost like the waves in the ocean. Then if you work up to the next image there are sea shells and the tones of the skirt are like sandy shades and I'm sure if you looked really closely at this piece you could find a mermaid basking in the sun on a rock jutting out of the waves (or is that just my imagination running away with me?) One of my favourite items of this collection is the top dress, though I have to say they are all exquisite it's just the sheer scale of this dress which brings it to the front of my mind.

I wish I could just get hold of this dress somehow and spread all the fabric out flat on the floor and try and figure out stories between each illustration and character because this is how I see a number of these garments the drawings are in fact characters and each garment or accessory has a different story to tell or adventure to show you. I'm probably starting to sound a little far fetched now but you can blame this on years of reading books and being forced to watch star wars one to many times!

Julie Verhoeven has also collaborated with some designer brands including Louis Vuitton and mulberry as well as working with h+m home, lancome juicy tubes and a number of restaurants and stores. I think this shows Julie really knows how to play to her strengths and this has helped her push illustration into the fashion forward world.

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And though I'm far away I still can hear them say.

My own interpretation of the uniform this is also my second attempt, my first being in my journal was just a very messy sketch this is much more refined and detailed. I genuinely like the style of the jacket and tie. I am thinking or incorporating this influence into some of my designs.

This uniform was worn by Marlene Dietrich while she was touring Europe during the war. She was visiting all the soldiers at there different stations to entertain them and to brighten up there spirits. What I initially found appealing about this uniform is the high waist band of the trouser (which is similar to how the land army wore there's) but as I looked into the more detailed parts of the uniform I saw the style of the shirt and tie, the structure of the jacket and how it all fastens together.

Another aspect of this touring uniform is the pockets not only are they practical but they also add detail and definition to certain area's. There are many parts of this individual uniform which I wish to take inspiration from for my own designs and garments. such as the buckles and the style of how the pieces fitted along with the little details such as badges and medals which for my own garments i plan to put a modern twist on.

Once I have done more designs I'm just wondering if you would like to see any up on my blog?

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Picture me with you but you couldn't do it.

This is Alice Rose Verney she a freelance illustrator who primarily focus's her talents on fashion and lifestyle. She uses a lot of mixed media, mainly collage and experimental photography which includes traditional and digital . Alice enjoys experimenting with new techniques and media which had led her to hugely developing her individual style of illustration.

With Alice's work I really admire her use of fabric incorporated with the pencil sketches. And how she likes to mix it up between photography, drawing, fabrics and papers. In my own work i would very much wish to take inspiration from Alice by using a stronger mix of media as well as adding pieces to the more traditional sketches I produce. I have taken inspiration from some of Verney's work with a piece which is in my file.

Alice Rose Verney tends to combine traditional and digital by originally hand sketching out the shape and basic structures of her piece out, then by scanning it into a photo editor (which could be photoshop) She has been known to edit magazine or 'clown' head onto the models bodies showing how Alice plays with scale. In my opinion I perceive some of Verney's work as quite dark. Such as the clown and deformed faces she uses for a range of her work, to some people it may be seen as disturbing to others original it just depends on your taste?

These to bottom Images are my favourite style of Alice's work. She says on her website that she realised early on that doing collage was her calling and that as she developed her own personal style she realised it was one of her biggest strengths. Alice Verney also likes to play with the positioning of the anatomy and repetition. Which is extremely clear when you look at her almost x-ray like collages. On the mood of Alice's work i see her collages here as almost glowing? or midnight by this I mean like glow in the dark . It also views as possibly a rave or techno style.

What do you all think of Alice Verney? Is she your cup of tea?

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Can you get fashion in a can?

This post is all about a new illustrator I found while searching for another illustrator of the same name (confusing I know). So this is Natalie Hugh's I am unsure if she is the Natalie Hugh's I was searching for but she will certainly do.

Natalie lives in London with her ever increasing wardrobe which is buckling at the seams. she works as a writer by day and by night she draws wafer slim girls in expensive outfits. Which Natalie all documents beautifully on her blog Canned Fashion. (http://www.cannedfashion.com)
She also draws everything from pugs with rabbit styled ears to designer garments. ( you can see them on her flickr here http://www.flickr.com/photos/nataliehughes ) she uses a mix of pen, ink and photoshop. For the photo editing she edits in pattern and block colour as seen on these two lovely examples of her work which i 'borrowed' off her own drawing page on her blog. In my opinion I think her illustrations envisage a mood of innocent and simplicity but with a splash of glamour. By the term simplicity i do not mean her drawing are plain but the structure oh her 'models' is simple clean lines so all the detail and attention is kept on the garments which the girls in the drawing are wearing.

I am very much looking forward to seeing the outcome of Natalie's blog in the future!

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