Designer Sketches from NY Fashion Week (Spring 2014)

Time to drool over designer fashion illustrations fresh from the designers studios and hitting the runways. Unless you're living under a rock you probably know New York Fashion Week has kicked off this week and at the start of each fashion week WWD collects and publishes designer inspiration. Its something I, as a fashion illustrator and fashion illustration enthusiast always look forward to. This season it was a nice surprise to see that some designers opted to show more than one illustration from their spring collections. It's such a treat to see grouping of illustrations, how the collections take shape and the consistency of each designers illustrative style.

I absolutely love the first grouping of sketches from Erin Fetherston (shown above) inspired by her recent Barbados summer wedding. Her illustrations are all so feminine, soft and delicate while still conveying personality with their simple stylized top knots and a single dramatic eye. Rebecca Minkoff's sketches (below) are quite different but equally as striking. Her "strong Latina woman" inspired illustrations are certainly more detailed and the fabrics are thoroughly rendered yet not overdrawn.

Brandon Sun's sketches (below) are super simple pen and ink illustrations with no color, skin tone or design details yet you get the feel of his collection and its bold and modern Japanese samurai armor inspiration.

Last but not least is of one my longtime favorite designers, Oscar de la Renta. These illustrations are quite unique, they have classic Oscar features, faces and hair styles yet the garments are very stylized. Taking a close look, if I had to guess I'd say that the "dot calm" inspired clothing was rendered digitally from actual fabric scans. Their whimsical and fun styled illustrations for Oscar's always sophisticated, classic  and timeless designs.

For more designer illustrations from the NYFW Spring 2014 collections you can click over to Women's Wear Daily, as well as checking back here with Fabulous Doodles in a few days as I plan to feature a few more of my favorites but with an interesting twist.

(Fashion illustrations by the designer named.)

New Print: AnnSophia in Louis Vuitton

This week I've added a new fashion illustration print to the shop; AnnaSophia. This sketch is inspired by an editorial from Teen Vogue of actress AnnaSophia Robb in a Louis Vuitton cropped top and mini skirt from Marc Jacobs' impeccable 1960's mod Spring 2013 ready-to-wear collection. I absolutely loved this graphic collection and have been thrilled to see it pop up on red carpets and in editorials like this one of the cute Carrie Diaries star.

I first saw this image in Teen Vogue a few months ago. I remember loving it and snapping a picture on my phone to later revisit but it somehow it got lost in the shuffle of too many pictures. A few weeks ago I stumbled on it yet again on Pinterest and was inspired to put some markers to paper to capture the look. (Which I actually did on my fabulous and new at the time Vogue paper.) I'm thrilled with how this fashion illustration came out and have had the sketch on display on my book shelves ever since. Last week while whipping up a new iphone cover design I decided it need a bold graphic for contrast and finally scanned AnnaSophia and added her to the mix.

To purchase a print of AnnaSophia or see more of my fashion illustrations click on over to Brooklit my etsy shop.

(Illustration: Brooke Hagel, photo: Teen Vogue)

Male Fashion Illustrations {Milan Fashion Week Spring 2014}

 (Roberto Cavalli)

Milan Men's Fashion Week is approaching and in anticipation Women's Wear Daily has published a bunch of designer illustrations, including the chic Roberto Cavalli sketch shown above, set to appear on the runways straight from the designer's drafting tables. Yes, I'm featuring male illustrations ladies and gents, you read that correctly! Over the past four years of Fabulous Doodles I written countless posts on designer illustrations from womenswear fashion weeks but this is the very first menswear feature.

(Les Hommes and Diesel Black Gold)

There are many reasons for this. First, men are extremely difficult to illustrate. Secondly, I was a womenswear fashion design major and spent years of college and subsequent years since, strictly drawing women. Last but not least I never had to challenge myself with illustrating men until my recent foray into live-illustrating at events where I can't exactly turn people away just for being male.

(Z Zegna and Ermanno Scervino)

Men are challenging to draw, every illustrator and designer I know personally admits to that. The line of a man is very straight and angular and its hard to make them statuesque, slim and fit without appearing girly. And if you draw them too big and brute then they come off sort of dumpy instead of masculine. You also have to be precise when drawing tailored pieces (as shown in the Brioni below) and its quite difficult to draw masculine facial features. Put too much pressure on the pencil while rendering the eyes for instance, and suddenly your man can look like he's wearing mascara.

(Brioni)

For me learning to draw men is a work in progress, for years I used to actually turn down projects that requested a male illustration, but over the past year and having to live-illustrate men more and more I've learned and consequently improved. Studying these designer sketches from the men's collections, and how these designers render the male proportions and male features can only help my illustrating and hopefully yours as well. 

These designer menswear sketches are from Women's Wear Daily, and if you click on over you can check out even more illustrations and inspiration from the spring 2014 Milan collections.

Fabulous Doodles' 4th Blogiversary

This past weekend marked four years of my little fashion illustration blog Fabulous Doodles! It's been a great year with many exciting new clients and experiences so what better time than now to look back and spotlight some of the years highlights (alongside a few Instagram memories.)

The biggest change of this year which brought about incredible opportunities was deciding to live-sketch at parties and events. After trying it out just once, and featuring the sketches here on Fabulous Doodles, I was approached by Director of Events for Vogue Magazine, Anne Vincent! As a life-long fashion nerd, walking into the Vogue offices, portfolio in hand that first time was a surreal experience.  Even though I was a nervous reck our meeting went great, my portfolio and resume were a hit, and I booked my first Vogue job for two weeks later. I live-sketched for Vogue at the opening party of the very first Piperlime store.

Since that first illustrating job with Vogue, over the past 8 months I've been rehired to illustrate at a handful of Vogue events, sketch for their partners, attend parties, make custom stationary for Vogue staffers and had countless introductions to editors, designers, and stylists. It's been incredible working with the team from Vogue this year and knowing that I have the support and encouragement of such an iconic and influential fashion powerhouse has been extraordinary.

The next highlight of this year is one actually not featured on Fabulous Doodles but instead one that it led to. Months ago after learning of everything I was working on via Fabulous Doodles an old FIT professor and friend recommended me for a highly coveted illustration position. I was called in for an interview to be in-house illustrator for Ralph Lauren Collection! Not for Polo, not Chaps, not Rugby, not Lauren, but the creme de la creme, Ralph Lauren Collection! This meeting unfortunately didn't go as well since I didn't get the job but it was such an honor to even be considered and meet with the head designers. I now truly get it when actors say "it's an honor just to be nominated," because thats exactly how I felt simply being considered and called into the Ralph Lauren Collection offices.

Working on Sociologie Wines featuring a different stylized sketch of mine on each wine bottle has been so gratifying and I'm thrilled with the final product. The feedback from friends, family and Fabulous Doodles readers both in person and on my social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) was overwhelming, and its something I'm really looking forward to working on more as the line expands.

Next up is my collaboration with the fashion director of Quest Magazine, which resulted in a whopping 6 page spread of my fashion illustrations. I've had editorial features before but nothing that even compared to the 6 full pages in Quest's 2013 Spring Style issue.

The next one is another biggie, something to actually cross off my childhood "bucket list." I've illustrated not one but two books this year! I worked with Capstone Publishing illustrating two fashion illustration tutorial books for the tween market: Fun Fashions You Can Sketch, Girly Girl Style and Harajuku Style. It was a long process and very challenging at times but I can now say my name appears in the Library of Congress! I've also just polished off the illustrations on a third book, which hopefully will be released later this year.

For years I've followed the work of sweets stylist Amy Atlas. After meeting at a cocktail party, Amy reached out commissioning me to illustrate some dessert bar concepts for her segments on the Today Show and Access Hollywood. I've also assisted from time to time, co-crafting, setting up and styling alongside Amy and her partner in sweets Lisa. Styling is something I used to do a great deal of in my previous position before taking on illustrating full-time and its so great to be able to go back to it from time to time, especially with such a talented duo.

Last but certainly not least of the highlights of this year is illustrating for InStyle and Gap. I've been a Gap girl for as long as I can remember and InStyle was my go to magazine for years so this was another dream job/pinch-me moment and something I was thrilled to add to my portfolio.

It has been a monumental year for my illustration career and I can hardly believe starting this fashion illustration blog four years ago has led me to such wonderful opportunities. Heres hoping year five of Fabulous Doodles will be continued success, recognition, and more pinch-me moments.

(Photos and sketches: Brooke Hagel @Brooklit)

Quest Magazine Fashion Illustration Editorial

I'm so excited to share this six page fashion illustration editorial spread from Quest, New York's society magazine, Spring Style Issue. I met Quest's fabulous Fashion Director Daniel Cappello a few months ago at a Vogue cocktail party and was thrilled weeks later when he reached out asking if I'd be interested in contributing custom sketches for the style issue.

Daniel came up with the idea of featuring a handful of New York's leading ladies in stand out designer looks from the spring 2013 collections that would suit each of them and their style. Daniel picked a few options for each and I chose from the bunch which designs were most "sketch worthy." First (shown above) is Hilary Geary Ross in a lavish Oscar de la Renta ensemble beside Lauren Bush Lauren in a stunning red georgette evening gown of cascading ruffles by Ralph Lauren Collection. I have to admit, I am not a red fan normally but this was the most enjoyable look to illustrate and I'm really thrilled with the outcome.

The next grouping of illustrations starts with Carolina Herrera in Carolina Herrera of course. This gold and ivory baroque-lame gown was another favorite to illustrate with her signature up-do and elegant gown detailing. (I actually had the pleasure of meeting Carolina years ago at a party and she was incredibly graceful and striking in person.) Next, icon Lee Radziwell in a modern white Calvin Klein Collection suit. Then the lovely Aerin Lauder in a leather Fendi color blocked top and skirt with Hermes heels, and Amanda Burden in chic monochromatic Tom Ford.

The last two, a somewhat unique pairing, starts with the statuesque Julia Koch whom I've also seen before in person, at opening night of the ballet. For Julia we chose this gorgeous green silk Gucci gown, with a high neckline and billowing flounce alongside the legendary Iris Apfel in her trademark oversized glasses wearing a graphic flower printed Prada fur. I was a little nervous to tackle Iris' sketch, as its challenging to draw mature women, plus I'm such a fan of hers I didn't want to disappoint! But I think they both came out well and I love the pairing of the two beside one another.

Here are some preliminary pencil sketches, or "base sketches," so you can see the progression of how I start out sketching compared to the finished colored rendering. I apologize they're a little light, its hard to pick up on faint pencil lines with scanners and cameras but its always nice to compare a before and after. You can also check out some photos of the women and the collections as seen on the runway on my "Project Q" Pinterest board.

It is such an honor to be included in Quest's spring style issue and to have six full pages of my sketches of these strong women is something I'm truly proud of. You can take a closer look at the spread in Quests digital issue here (on pages 106-111 of the March issue) as unfortunately it's not on newsstands anymore since I'm a little tardy with this post! I was traveling when the issue came out and although I tweeted, facebooked and instagramed about it, the Fabulous Doodles post got put on the back burner.

Best Dressed: Met Ball 2013

Last night was the fashion event of the year, the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute's annual Met Ball. For this years gala stars and designers rocked their "punk"-themed best to celebrate the Met's newest exhibit PUNK: Chaos to Couture.

(Donna Karen Atelier sketch, Hailee Steinfeld in Donna Karen Atelier) 

There were so many showstoppers it was difficult to pick favorites but in the end its those that really embraced the theme and rocked out fabulous punk-couture who really nailed it. First up (shown above) is sixteen year old Hailee Steinfeld in Donna Karen Atelier alongside an adorable sketch of her in the dress (that DKNY tweeted earlier.) At first glance the dress looks sophisticated and pretty, but then up close you see that what appears to be a floral mum pattern is actually safety pins hand stitched to a cream leather dress! Its such a genius sophisticated/edgy look thats absolutely perfect for this event.  

(Kate Mara in Delpozo, Julianne Hough in custom Topshop, Blake Lively in Gucci, Chanel Iman in J Mendel, and Sarah Jessica Parker in Giles Deacon and Philip Treacy.) 

The safety pinned Donna Karen wasn't the only hit of the night though. Kate Mara in Delpozo was absolute perfection in an oxblood colored dress with a unique jeweled bodice and molded peplum. Julianne Hough's beautiful etherial custom Topshop gown was perfect on her tiny frame and the tulle fabric was actually embroidered with a delicate spider web pattern throughout. Blake Lively was jaw-droppingly glamorous in a heavily embellished pale green and black strapless Gucci Premiere gown. I rarely meet a stripe I don't like and Chanel Iman in this black and white striped J Mendel dress was a stunner, and very punk meets red carpet. And last but certainly not least is the amazing SJP in a Giles Deacon gown and Philip Treacy punk couture custom mowhawk headpiece. Its one of those looks that really only SJP channeling her inner Carrie could not only pull off but completely rock. I know there were a lot of haters on this one, but I have to say I really loved it! It was the right place, right time, and right mowhawk! 

Unfortunately I didn't make it to ball (one day, fingers crossed!!) but you better believe I'll be checking out this exhibit. The Costume Institute's PUNK: Chaos to Couture exhibit examining punk's impact on high fashion will be on display starting today through August 14, 2013.  

Best Dressed: Oscar's 2013

From the minute Jennifer Lawrence stepped onto the Oscar's red carpet I knew who my best dressed of the night would be! What's so ironic is that just last week I had to draw this very Christian Dior Haute Couture gown for a magazine editorial (its yet to be released but I did Instagram this sneak peek a few days ago,) and I fell in love with this dress. I even got into a discussion with the Fashion Director about the fabulousness of this gown when I dropped my sketches off at the magazines office. Its not just the dress alone though, Jennifer's entire look was beautifully flawless. The Chopard jewels, the modern twist of a delicate necklace falling to the back, the up swept do, the jeweled bag, it was all perfection and made quite a memorable Oscars look for the new face of Dior and Oscar winning it-girl.

(Sally Field in Valentino, Kerry Washington in Mui Mui, Amy Adams in Oscar de la Renta, Jenna Dewan in Gucci, Stacy Keibler in Naeem Khan, Charlize Theron in Dior, Georgina Chapman in Marchesa, and Octavia Spencer in Tadashi Shoji) 

Although Jennifer was hands down my favorite of the night many were looking red carpet chic. I was blown away by Sally Field in a dramatic ruffled Valentino. Charlize Theron was stunning in a white beaded peplum gown by Dior Haute Couture. And last but not least I loved Octavia Spencer in her go-to designer Tadashi Shoji. Her dress was so ethereal and luminescent, and that buttery tulle against her skin was beautiful. I just loved it.

Who was your best dressed? If you somehow missed the Oscars (which I couldn't imagine!) you can check out WWD for more red carpet looks from Hollywood's most fashionable night.

Designer Fashion Illustrations {NYFW Fall 2013}

Here in New York we're in throws of Fashion Week, which to me means designer sketch time. Ever since my college days a major highlight of NYFW has been when the trade paper Women's Wear Daily shares designer sketches and the inspirations behind the collections. I used to have to hunt down the illustration issues, but now everything is shared online. (Am I dating myself here?!)

Its always fun to pick my favorites to feature here on Fabulous Doodles and the Rachel Zoe sketch (shown above) was a no brainer. She's actually the only designer I'm showing again from last season's picks. What I love about this fashion illustration is that the pose is playful and unique, being a profile with a kicked up leg. The illustration is also stylized but not cartoonish or unsophisticated, and is wonderful example of rendering textures.

This Pamella Roland sketch is unique because the illustrator went with a very stoic profile pose. You don't see profile silhouettes too often because they're difficult to read and really see the garment designs, but that is not the case here. Its a lovely sketch of a beautiful gown.

As you may know my previous NYFW season reviews, I absolutely love illustrations done on craft and construction papers like the Oscar de la Renta sketch (shown above.) The floral pattern, which I'm pretty sure to have been photoshopped or cut and pasted on top is beautiful and I think the mix of white charcoal with pen and/or gauche is a really nice effect on the dark paper base. Highlighting around the croquis is something many designers choose to do, and its interesting to see how the de la Renta and Rachel Roy illustrations both have it but so differently, one in white and the other with heavy marker and conte crayon.

This Wes Gordon illustration is a little more abstract than the others I've chosen this season. I really like the watercolored work and the the overall feel of the illustration makes a nice visual. For more designer sketches straight from the New York collections head over to WWD (that's part one, here's part 2 & part 3.) Which designer made your favorite sketch? Are there any you absolutely loved that you think should have been included here?

(These illustrations were all created by the designers and their design houses, featured on Women's Wear Daily.)

Designer Fashion Illustrations from NYFW

One of the best things about New York Fashion Week for me is when designers release their sketches. I've always loved comparing and contrasting the various drawing techniques, mediums, and styles used throughout the industry. It could also be a fantastic source of inspiration and jumping board to try something new in your own fashion illustrations. For example, I find Kelly Wearstler's painted fashion illustration (above right) on a dark textured paper so strikingly beautiful it makes me want to whip out the paint and gauche. The faint white brush strokes framing the figure makes the illustration pop right off the paper, its such great effect. And Jenny Packham's sketch (above left) is quite different but stands out as well showing how minimal stylized pencil lines can also convey a strong design. 

The Calvin Klein sketch is clearly a stylistic extreme being a watercolored silhouette but it certainly has a lovely effect and could act as a great exercise idea.  The Diane Von Furstenberg illustration (above right) has a charming and playful look. I love the layering of garments and accessories within the stylized sketch. 

Last but certainly not least is my newest favorite designer, Rachel Zoe. The sharp pen outlines, blunt coloring, and elongated figure give this drawing an attitude that truly resinates with her spring 13' collection as well as the established brand esthetic. 

We'll have wait till February for the next batch of sketches from designer collections because today was a wrap for New York Fashion Week's spring/summer 2013 collections at Lincoln Center. These were my favorite designer sketches from the season, how about yours?

(The fashion illustrations displayed here were all created and released by each designer, or design house, from their spring/summer 2013 collection.)

Talk with Tom Ford

This past tuesday night I had the pleasure of attending a "Talk with Tom Ford" at the upper east side's renowned 92nd Street Y. As a self proclaimed fashion nerd, it was surreal to sit and watch the Tom Ford talk about everything from being bullied as a child for carrying a briefcase in lieu of a messy backpack, to his unprecedented reign at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, meeting Richard Buckley the love of his life 25 years ago, to his stint at retirement before diving back into womenswear to start his own collection inspired by the 30 most inspiring women in his life. (Including the likes of Julianne Moore, Beyonce, Lauren Hutton and Marisa Berenson.)

Tom talked a lot about the mentors in his life and the advice given to him that he's always valued, such as "only hire people you want to have dinner with" which he learned form Dawn Mello and "you have one decision to make in life, you can either be happy or not be happy" which was his grandma "Duckie's" motto.

Even talking about being an anal Virgo, Tom oozed charisma and charm.  He was entertaining, funny, and seductive in the way he answered questions and played off the audience. Fern Mallis even said how we were quite the lucky crowd because her inbox had been filled for days and her phone ringing off the hook with friends asking for tickets for the event which sold out instantly over four months ago. A second room had to be opened for people to watch a live-stream of the talk on screens. (The only other luminary the Y has ever offered that for was for Woody Allen!)



Ford shared so many wonderful insights into his life and career which I took many notes on but couldn't possibly write about it all. I manage to sneek these two photos, but for a more detailed recap of the event you can check out this Womens Wear Daily article and watch the video montage of highlights (above) that Fern Mallis shared a few days ago. A few of my highlights were:

-The influence of Halston on his designs (especially his early work), and Madame Vionnet on Halstons. Because "the art of creativity is concealing your source." -Coco Chanel

-He talked about the fact that people don't realize how hard people work in fashion, and with such passion. Its not appreciated or understood by those outside of the industry.

-Being at the helm of the Gucci Group and deciding what designers he admired and had potential but didn't conflict with his designs, eventually picking Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen and Nicolas Ghesquiere.

-Gwyneth Paltrow at this years Oscars was one of his favorite fashion moments. He loved that she was brave enough to wear it and it was a proud moment.

It was a fabulous night and one that I will not soon forget. (Right up there with attending the Vogue fashion show and being commissioned to sketch for Barbie at NYFW.) How often you walk into a Y filled with air kissing fashion folk and sit in audience among such notable industry people as Glenda Bailey, Valerie Steele, Dawn Mello, Cathy Hardwick, Renaldo Barnette (whom I brought as my dapper date), Aaron Potts (another talented friend) and designer Brandon Sun, to name a just few, and get to listen to a fashion design genius talk for nearly 2 hours. I'm still on a fashion high, and it was three nights ago!

Met Ball 2012: Oscar de la Renta

The annual Met Ball aka "Fashion's Oscars" is an event I always look forward to for jaw-dropping fashion, and this years Met red carpet did not disappoint. It was packed with stars, the fashion elite and top models all donning stunning designer creations.

Its always challenging to find designer sketches of red carpet looks so I was thrilled when @OscarPRgirl pinned this Oscar de la Renta illustration made especially for Lauren Santo Domingo. Being the girly girl that I am, I loved this bow filled gown and absolutely adore the sketch of it. Even with facial features, hair, and all color being void, its still a completely readable a lovely fashion illustration. 

The Ball was in celebration of Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute's new exhibition honoring Miuccia Prada and Elsa Schiaparelli which opens to the public tomorrow. Tom Ford, whom I had the pleasure of actually seeing last night at the 92nd Street Y said the exhibition was "smart" and they way they displayed the work of both designers was like nothing he'd seen before. Tom even said he emailed Miuccia first thing in the morning to send his praises. I'm looking forward to checking out the exhibit myself and fingers crossed next year I'll be walking that carpet opening night! (Don't laugh, its always been a dream!) 

Armani Costume Designs for Lady Gaga

Georgio Armani recently released the latest costume design sketches for Lady Gaga's next world tour, and I couldn't wait to share the avant garde illustrations with you here on Fabulous Doodles! In Gaga's first tour, The Monsters Ball (perviously featured here) the wardrobe, which I actually had the thrill of seeing in person when I attended the HBO taped concert at Madison Square Garden, was simply spectacular and this next round of costumes looks like it will not disappoint.

I don't know about you but the sketches really remind me of the work of Bob Mackie. Aside from the obvious reasons that they're whimsical and sparkly costume sketches that are full of personality and attitude, the figure proportions, rendering techniques, and overall look of the artwork is just so similar to the work of Mackie. It really adds to the shock factor for me that they're by Armani, whom I completely have pigeon holed in my brain as being the go-to tailored suit design master.

One idea to take note of, for you aspiring designers, is that the illustrator has used the same figure to build upon for the more than one look. You can clearly see that these sketches, although drastically different from one another in the costume design, are the same exact pose and most likely drawn over the same figure. This is a sketching shortcut when your working to focus yourself on the designs and not get overly involved in sketching new poses and figures for each look.

Thank you to Armani for releasing the sketches and fingers crossed in a few months I'll be thanking Gaga for putting on another incredible show! Anyone have tickets, feel free to send them my way. ;)

College Sketches: Val & Bridget

I'm excited to share these sketches I drew years ago in a college model drawing class (at FIT) as well as offer them as new prints in my shop. What made me want to revisit some of my college class work was something that someone recently posted on my Facebook fan page. They asked if I was ever going to draw "real women" who were not a size zero. Although I myself am no where near that size, it is my illustrative style to draw very elongated, albeit unrealistic, fashion figures.

These two fashion illustrations however were drawn from plus size models. The models posed for us for the overall stance and attitude of the sketch, then we drew garments on them based off images of our choosing. I went with two Valentino designs from a magazine editorial. The little black dress drawn on "Val" (aptly named after Valentino;) is from a 1997 collection and the elaborate taupe mini dress and feathered bag on "Bridget" are from a 2002 collection. (Luckily I had made notes besides the sketches so I can share the source info with you.) Hope you like these illustrations from my college archives.

Fashion Week Highlights

For years I've had the pleasure of participating in one way or another in New York Fashion Week. (Ever since my college days when I worked as volunteer with my bff setting up shows and dressing models backstage.) Since then I usually attend a show, party and/or event here and there. This season however, for the fall 2012 collections, I was honored to be invited to a handful of events and was even hired to create some illustrations. It was a fabulous fashion-filled week and although I'm a little late here I wanted to share some my highlights.

Fashion week began for me at a tweet-up in the Amex Skybox with the lovely Samantha Yanks, Editor in Chief of Gotham and Hamptons Magazine. Its always a treat to speak with editors and hear what they're excited about but especially so when its one so in tune with New York, and who also has an insanely impressive resume. Samantha previously worked for Vogue and O Magazine, so she's a fellow former Hearst girl. I also learned that she is a fashion illustration enthusiast. Samantha kindly shared a instagram snapshot of my cards with her followers while we gabbed about our obsession with Pinterest.

Immediately after the Skybox I headed downstairs in the tents (yes, fashion week tents are large enough to have a stairs and a second floor viewing lounge) to attend what was possibly one of the best fashion week parties I've ever gone to, "Fashion Night In" sponsored by Mercedes-Benz and P.S. I made this. Why was this party so fantastic you may ask? At first glance it seemed like any other fashion party with cocktails and horderves abound and countless well dressed fashion-folk. But then, in the center of the space was a huge crafting table! And what did we get to craft with, actual Mercedes leather that's normally used to upholster cars!

I was in fashion-diy-heaven sipping champagne while punching studs into leather. I made a collar necklace of leather and tulle, a studded wrap bracelet, and even took some leather home to make tassel keychains for my bags (shown above.) Then after my crafting bliss I got to meet the one and only Jonathan Adler! My dad is an avid potter, and I've been a huge fan of Jonathan's since he opened his first store in 1998. I was so excited to finally meet him, have a little chat and take a photo (above) with him. (Jonathan chose my Eva sketch.)

Another exciting aspect to this soiree was the coat check, it was a "Barbie's Dream Closet" sponsored coat check, which got me even more excited for my Barbie sketches to make their appearance the next day at Barbie's Dream Closet event. The Fashion Night In party was simply wonderful and the icing on the cake was the fantastic swag bag I got to leave with, with a Naeem Kahn silk scarf and 8 new bottles of Essie nail polish created just for NYFW. (Gotta love a great swag bag!)

The next afternoon was my most personally exciting NYFW event because my sketches were displayed for Barbie's Dream Closet at Lincoln Center. (Which I already gushed about and shared more pictures in a previous post.) What I didn't mention, was that aside from the Barbie "headshots" they also had me draw Barbie hands for their manicure bar that featured the different mani options that editors, celebs, and VIP guests such as Nigel Barker (above) and their little girls could choose from, like a Barbie a glitter french mani or a Barbie pink ombre manicure.

The following day I headed back to Lincoln Center bright at early for the 8AM Nicole Ferrari show. Between shows while strolling around the tents and I ended up bumping into an old friend (below) whom I interned with at Saturday Night Live a million years ago, as well as Robert Verdi, my very first boss post college. After some catching up it was time for Vera Wang!

Like Barbie, the Vera Wang show was another star-studded event, Renee Zellweger and Leighton Meester were directly across the runway from me. Also front row was Anna Wontour, Oscar nominee Viola Davis, and Maria Sharapova. Vera showed a lovely collection of gauzy separates in neutral tones with pops of orange and ice blue. I've been searching for some Vera sketches from the collection to share, but it seems like Vera Wang gang hasn't released any.

Later that afternoon I stopped by the Accessories Council Accessory Lounge to support my friend, publicist and Moxie tastemaker, Jono. I chowed down on these adorable cupcakes made by Dana Herbert, TLC's Next Great Baker Winner, and ended up reconnecting with another old friend, "Curvy Girl" Patty Hughes. Needless to say it was a very eventful NYFW day.

The last highlight of my fashion week was the Levi's fashion show. This one was off-site, down in Soho loft, which was a nice change of scenery. The event opened with a Levi's themed art installation followed by the runway show. It was a fun show with a very downtown retro vibe. After the show I once again bumped into Patty which was a great surprise. We were having such a nice time mingling and gabbing that we decided to hit up C Wonder (my new favorite store, thank you Patty!) in lieu of rushing uptown for the next show. I mean there will always be another show and another fashion week right?

Fashion Week: Designer Sketches {Fall 2012}

(BGBG and Rachel Roy)

Today was the last day of the shows for the fall 2012 New York collections so what better day than today to post some of my favorite designer fashion illustrations from this season. It always interests me to pool different designers sketches and see their take on illustrating.

(Rebecca Minkoff, Tibi, Chris Benz)

Although my personal style of illustrating tends to be very detailed and fully rendered I absolutely love the sketchy quality of the illustrations from designers Rachel Roy and Rebecca Minkoff. And the style of the light weight pen sketches from both Tibi and Chris Benz (shown above) are such a fun and whimsical take on illustration.

(James Coviello, Elie Tahari and NHAM)

This James Coviello illustration (above left) displays such great fabric rendering and its always nice to see some bright colors incorporated into a fall palette. And I love that the NAHM sketch (above right) combines two different rendering techniques, simple pencil sketching for the body, and a markered technique for the clothing. Its such a striking combination, I may even try it out myself soon.

(Tracy Reese, Nicole Miller and DKNY)

Last but certainly not least is a fun profile illustration from Tracy Resse which appears be a computer generated illustration. (Which brings back haunting memories of FIT and CAD classes! I'm a pencil-to-paper kind of girl.) The chic 70's inspired girl in the middle is from one of my best friends Renaldo Barnette, for Nicole Miller's fall collection. It always amazes me how he can channel so much attitude and energy without showing the face or eyes, like in this fabulous illustration. And lastly is a "doodlesque" loose sketch from DKNY.

I'm working on a post wrapping my fashion week excursions since last weekend's Barbie excitement but in the mean time I hope you enjoy these girls. Which is your favorite and why?

(Designer illustrations from Pantone and Stylist)