Sketches from Fashion Week Spring 2012 {Part 2}

(Rachel Roy)

Sadly its the last day of Fashion Week here in New York. And although we'll have to wait until spring for the collections to pop up in stores (and till Feb. for the next NYFW to roll around) we can enjoy the fabulous designer sketches here and now starting with these creamy neutral designs.

(Pamella Roland)

I absolutely adore the illustration style of the designs from Rachel Roy and Pamella Roland. Both show such fluid movement and have an easy sketchy quality to them while still conveying clear garment designs and details.

(St. John and Cynthia Steffe)

These sketches, by St. John and Cynthia Steffe, are both pretty heavy handed and appear to be drawn with a thick marker, like a Sharpie. This could be a little tough to pull off since the tip is so thick and can easily bleed and become a blurring mess. However these turned out great, and I'm sure were completed fairy quickly. It could be a fun drawing exercise to try out this style and see if works for you. The trick is to work fast and keep that marker moving.

(Pamella Roland)

For more fashion illustrations from the spring 2012 collections you can check out Essence and Pantone Style Guide.

Custom Bridal Illustrations

Over the past few weeks, with summer coming to an end, I've been busy sending out new custom bridal fashion illustrations. I thought now, mid New York Fashion Week, would be a great time to share a few of these brides with you.

(Bride, Amy)

This first bride was a fun client to work with, not only did I love her gown, but her spunky personality as well. She told me she was "very sassy" and wanted her personality to shine through in the illustration.

(Bride Catherine, gift from her sister Christina)

This second bridal fashion illustration is unique for me. The reason being, although I've been doing these for years now she is my very first custom illustration commission for an Asian bride! I was so excited to work on her and absolutely love the chic simplicity of her minimal and modern look.

(Bride Lyndsey, gift from sis Drew)

Last but not least is this lovely southern belle wearing a classic sweetheart neckline, adorned with lace applique and a figure flattering waist-cinching bow on a-line gown. I happen to be a total girly girl, so this bride is certainly another favorite!

If you would like a custom illustration for yourself or to give as a gift you can check out the custom illustration listings in my Etsy bridal shop, Brooklit Bride. You can also read this older post detailing my custom process.

Sketches from Fashion Week Spring 2012 {Part 1}

(ADAM by Adam Lippes and Peter Som)

Its that time of year again, fashion week is in full swing and Manhattan is all a buzz with shows, parties and promotional fashion events. My favorite aspect of fashion week is the abundance of designer sketches from the new collections of corse.

(Lela Rose and Nanette Lepore)

This season I've grouped the designer sketches by color, and today I'm featuring the springy pinks, reds, and oranges with the occasional hint of navy.

(Elie Tahari and VPL by Victoria Bartlett)

When reviewing a wide array of designer sketches grouped together like this its interesting to take note of the different ways that you could approach your own fashion illustrations. There's a simple, stylized and slightly edgy technique used by ADAM (which happens to be my favorite of this post), or the bold and cartoon-esque look of Nanette Lepore and Elie Tahari.

(DKNY and Tommy Hilfiger)

Another interesting technique you could play around with is a mix of a pencil drawn figure with a marker colored-in, garment as seen in both the Lela Rose and VPL by Victoria Bartlett illustrations.

(Milly by Michelle Smith)

Last but not least is the quick looking more gesture-drawing style sketching as seen in the Peter Som, DKNY, and Milly sketches. What's your favorite illustration style?

(Designer sketches from Pantone)