Fabulous Doodles 2011 Gift Guide

Looking for the perfect holiday gift for your fashion-design-major little sis, your artistic 4 year old niece, or your impossible to shop for yet fabulous bff? Well look no further, because I've assembled the perfect gift guide for the fashion loving artist in your life.

(1. Button Box $16.99, 2. Aphrodite USB hub $29.99, 3. 101 Things I learned in Fashion School $6, 4. Sketchbook $12.95, 5. Portable Sewing Machine $24.99)

The first gift of the guide, for The Fashion Student is the (1) jumbo button box. It's ideal for art supplies (or jewelry) and is on my personal wish list. The (2) Aphrodite USB hub adds the right amount of kitch to any workspace. (3) 101 Things I learned in Fashion School is an incredibly informative little book for any design freshman. These (4) sketch books are the ones that I use for all my illustration work. They come in 2 different sizes, have thick bright white paper, and perforated edges that make a clean tear. The (5) mini pink sewing machine would be great for that last minute hem adjustment. (Or for a person with a tiny apartment who's too lazy to get out their big sewing machine from storage. . .like me :)

(1. Fashion Illustration Mini Print $6, 2. Snapshot Frames, set of 5 $10, Button Magnets $25 3. Gold iPhone Receiver $78, 4. Kate Spade iPhone Case $40, 5. Valentino Book $47.25)

For The Hard to Shop for Fashion Friend: My (1) fashion illustration mini-prints would be great for any fashion minded girl. Maybe your bff with a new office or apartment to decorate? The button or snapshot frame magnets would be adorable to adorn a cubicle or fridge. The Kate Spade gold dot iphone case is my new favorite thing! I have it, and get comments on it daily. (And the limited edition gold retro hand held phone is just begging to be paired with it.) Buying a book about your friends favorite designer is brilliant. I received this beautiful Valentino book as a gift. It not only contains a plethora of stunning photos and sketches from the legendary designer but also looks amazing on a coffee table.

(1. Chanel Print $9.99, 2. Color Pencil Studs $5, 3. Doodle Pocket Mirror $8, 4. Sterling Scissor Necklace $16, 5. Pencil Case $9, 6. Fashion Illustration Flat Note Cards $10)

Little Etsy Extras: Looking for that extra little gift thats the perfect unique handmade addition to your gift, Etsy is the website for you. Can't afford Chanel, you can pick up this beautiful (1) signed pencil drawing print. The (2) colored pencil stud earring make for a fun and quirky gift. A (3) pocket mirror from my shop would be a great little addition to a cosmetic or handbag purchase. The (4) sterling silver scissors are a great charm necklace for any designer, crafter or artist. The chevron striped pouch makes for a very chic pencil case and a pack of (6) fashion illustration flat note cards from my shop would be lovely to get in the mail thanking you for the fabulous gifts.

(1. Jumbo Clipboard $167, 2. Crayon Maker $44.98, 3. Face Plate $10.99, 4. Aquadoodle $43.88)

For The Little Artist: In my doctors office I fell in love with possibly the coolest looking (1) wall easel/clip board with a roll of paper to continuously draw and paint. The (2) Crayola crayon maker would have been life changing as a child! With these (3) face plates its now okay to play with your food. And last but not least, (4) Aquadoodle, the toddler toy that allows them to make art with just water. I've played with this at my friends house and I love it! (I've actually fought with a 3 year old over the water pen!)

Kate Middleton Bridal Illustration

Meet my newest bridal fashion illustration, Kate Middleton Dutchess of Cambridge. I have to admit I was a little obsessed and was one of those people who was up at 4AM tuning into the historic royal wedding.

Weeks before the royal wedding I was contacted by The Nate Berkus Show to collaborate with stylist Louise Roe on a illustration predicting Kate's gown design. Kate's dress was so top secret leading up to the big day, it was kept in a vault and even the designer was kept a mystery. Louise and I had a long conversation about the dress, even referenced a post I wrote with designer predictions, and we were on the same page as to what we thought her dress would look like. I sketched away and two days later I was sitting in the audience watching Nate and Louise discuss my sketches!

Needless to say I had put a lot of time and thought into her dress so I was thrilled when the wedding day came and I saw her step out and into that car. I couldn't believe how dead-on we were! There were some slight differences though to my design and the one Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen did, so I sketched out a new illustration here based the wedding pictures. Here's the listing of the Kate print and if you'd like a sketch of yourself or to give as a gift, here is a link with my custom work.

(I'm also obsessed with this wallpaper shown above; Graham & Brown's "Crowns and Coronets")

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.

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)

Vera Wang Designs for Kim K.

I was thrilled when I saw Vera Wang's tweet this morning directing me to her sketches of Kim Kardashian's three (yes, you read that right, she wore three) wedding gown designs. Needless to say, I love a designer sketch. Take a designer sketch and add in a celebrity or pop culture reference and I've got a guaranteed Fabulous Doodles feature. (You can check out similar previous posts with designs for 'Bella Swan' and Kate Middleton.)

This first dress, a classic princess ballgown design is the dress Kim wore to walk down the aisle for the actual wedding ceremony. As I love almost anything ballerina inspired, I adore the impressively large gathered tulle skirt and simplicity and elegance of the strapless lace bodice.

The second design, my personal favorite for Kim, is a dramatic lace ruffled mermaid silhouette that she donned for their first dance.

And last but not least, Kim's third dress is a v-neck bias cut satin gown with a flared skirt bottom. This one is the most simple and very old Hollywood and was worn to party the night away.

I'm so glad that Vera and the Wang gang decided to share these sketches. I wish more designers would follow suit. I'm also thankful thats its gotten me out my blogging rut! I can't believe its been a month since my last post. I'm sorry, its unlike me to let so much time lapse between posts but its been a nutty summer. (I have been posting on facebook and checking in on twitter though, so make sure you're a follower.)

Illustrations by Vera Wang

McQUEEN

Its not often that an exhibition blows my mind and takes me on an emotional rollercoaster, but thats what happened last week when my friend Sarah and I finally stuck out the long line and made our way into The Metropolitan Museum of Art's exhibition Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty.

"You've got to know the rules to break them. That's what I'm here for, to demolish the rules but keep the tradition." -Alexander McQueen

This very month fifteen years ago (when I was 15) I enrolled in a summer program at a art university. It was then that I was introduced to the work of McQueen by my fashion professor who besides never having taught a class before, happened to be a close friend of McQueens since childhood. He described helping Lee (Alexander was his middle name) build his first collection in a bare bones flat where they had to take the doors down and turn them into tables to have sufficient work surfaces. His stories stayed with me and I'd often think of them when fashion week rolled around and I'd check out McQueen's latest collection.

McQueen was brilliant and his collections were always dramatic and pushed the envelope. One of the joys of this exhibit was walking through with Sarah (one of my bffs and fellow FIT fashion design alum) and pointing out to one another the pieces we remember from past collections and getting closer looks at all the intricacy and attention to detail within each piece.

Highlights of the exhibition for me include:

-The glass casket in the Romantic Gothic room featuring McQueen's Angels and Demons. This gold gilded, feathered, and engineered printed collection showed his passion for art history.

-Also in the Romantic Gothic room, the Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious silk parachute coat inspired by Tim Burton with a small fan hidden in the floor blowing it open.

-The Cabinet of Curiosities room, with cubbies containing incredible accessories from his collections such as the Chinese Garden cork head piece by Phillip Treacy Feith, beautiful bodices of wood or molded leather and the splatter paint dress (shown atop this post) where above the dress you could watch video footage from the 1999 show where Shalom Harlow came out in a white dress and she stood on a rotating platform as robots aggressively spray painted her.

-The Romantic Exoticism room with its mirrored walls and rotating mannequins that I later learned was designed to simulate a jewelry box.

-The disturbing yet beautiful wallpaper made from McQueen drawings that was blown up and repeated as you walked into the Romantic Naturalism room.

-The hologram. This little hologram that you have to bend down to watch literally took my breath away. It starts as a little blue/white smokey light and becomes Kate Moss in and "Oyster" dress of hundreds of layers of raw edged silk organza, spinning and moving as the music from Schindler's List plays. There are no words to describe how beautiful this was. Then once the hologram show is finished you can admire the actual dress (shown below) as you walk into the next room.

This exhibit has been extended (for the second time) to August 7th. If you're in NYC or have plans of visiting, make the trip on over to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The line is long and the exhibit will most likely be packed, but its hands down one of the best exhibitions I've ever seen. The rooms are transformed floor to ceiling and your taken on a journey of the genius that was Lee Alexander McQueen.

All images from The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Designer Desktop

Can't afford to splurge on Manolos? Well I've found the next best thing. Stylist Magazine contacted top shoe designers to sketch some of their favorite designs for summer, then turned them into free downloadable desktop wallpapers!

You can personalize your computer with illustrations by designers including Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahnik, or Sergio Rossi.

To dress up your computer simply click on over to the Stylist blog and you can download your favorite. I think I'm going with the wedge by Georgina Goodman for my Macbook. How about you?

Fashion Week: Designer Sketches {Part 2}

(Adrienne Vittadini and Pamela Roland)

As promised, I have more designer sketches to share from the New York Fashion Week Fall 2011 Collections. These are some of my favorite illustrations taken from the Pantone Fall Color Guide.

(Ella Moss and Pamela Roland)

I mentioned this last season, but it still reins true now, Ella Moss (above) does such a fantastic job of accurately rendering her prints and accessories. Her sketches always look so detailed and understandable, but not overworked. They just seem so effortless and easy breezy. The Pamela Roland sketch (also above) has a similar quality and I absolutely love the strong three quarter pose.

(Lela Rose and Tommy Hilfiger)

I don't know why but I'm a huge fan of sketches with sunglasses, so this Tommy illustration sporting sunglasses and a chunky gray cable knit turtleneck is one of my faves. Its such a fantastic layered look. Which one's do you like best?

To take a look at more designer sketches you can download the Pantone Fall Color Guide pdf here.

Fashion Week: Designer Sketches

New York Fashion Week came and went all to quickly this season but the Fall 2011 collections did not disappoint and more importantly left us with some fabulous new designer sketches to ogle over. Here are a few of my favorites!

(Jason Wu and Catherine Malandrino)

I absolutely love the loose and stylistic approach of these Jason Wu and Catherine Malandrino sketches. They are both so energetic and sophisticated.

(Adam and Rachael Roy)

This Adam sketch is great example of how you can achieve a polished and professional illustration without rendering the face and hair, which many find intimidating. Especially when starting out drawing and designing. Keep it clean and simple.

(Badgley Mischka and Ruffian)

Next week I'll post more NYFW sketches as well as a couple of my pictures from Lincoln Center. (It's so weird to not say "the tents" or "Bryant Park" anymore!) In the mean time, if you'd like to see more illustrations and read about the inspiration behind these collections you can check out InStyle.

(Peter Som and Michael Kors)

Costume Design: Black Swan

It's always a thrill to find great costume illustrations, and these sketches from fashion designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte for Black Swan do not disappoint! They have a soft and whimsical stylized look, which is synonymous with the look of their illustrations for Rodarte, while still serving as readable working sketches.

The designing sisters were challenged with making clothes that were dramatic and character appropriate while also being ballet-friendly and completely wearable.

The wardrobe, the characters and the setting are all so intriguing to me. I also absolutely love illustrating ballerinas so maybe I'll take a stab at rendering the main characters after I see the film.

Embarrassingly enough I have not actually seen Black Swan yet, I usually steer clear of scary movies, but I may have to suck it up just to see these costumes in action.

Costume Illustration: Giorgio Armani

When someone says "Armani" I think of sophisticated Italian tailored suits and sleek evening wear. Recently though, Giorgio Armani has been branching out into jaw dropping theatrical show stoppers, starting with these designs for Lady Gaga. I remember watching Gaga perform at the Grammy's in this heart-shaped leotard (below) and thinking it would be a great look to illustrate. I never actually did it, so I was exited to stumble upon the Armani illustration.

I love they way the beading is rendered! The entire garment glistens. And in the sketch below there are all these little flecks of color that make the drawing appear iridescent. Its great to see a designer fully render a garment. Although stylized illustrations can be fabulous, I think its nice to see all the details and get a full understanding of the design.

Armani has now moved on to design the tour wardrobe for Alicia Keys' "Element of Freedom" European tour. The looks are not as dramatic or avant garde as the Gaga design's but they do have the glitz and glam that you expect from a pop star performance and a design legend.

This last group (below) actually reminds me of the "art test" part of my application to FIT's fashion design department. I had to create a concert wardrobe for one of my favorite singers. I chose Ms. Whitney Houston. She was touring at the time and was wearing only Dolce and Gabbana. (Maybe I'll share it sometime if I can find it.) Anyone apply to FIT lately? I wonder if this is still part of the application and art test.

I love seeing, and collecting, designer fashion illustrations, and its all the more exciting when they're costume designs! Hopefully Armani will set the set the trend here and more designers will share their sketches.

(Random side note: I was once asked to illustrate Alicia, and the sketch was actually given to her. It was years ago, and one of my first red carpet illustrations. My work has improved a lot since then, but you can check it out here.)

Inside the Sketchbook: Club Monaco

I happen to live a few blocks away from a Club Monaco store that I pass by multiple times everyday. The window displays and merchandising are always superb but this week they literally stopped me in my tracks. The entire window consists of fashion illustrations that look like they're ripped right from a designers sketchbook! The first time I walked by was evening and the store was closed so I had to settle for taking some pictures and letting my mind wander; are they student work, are they the interns, or are they from the Club Monaco design team?

Well I went back during store hours, spoke with the manager, and after she did a little research she called me with the answer! All the illustrations are by one woman: Caroline Belhumeur, Club Monaco's Vice President of Women's Design Apparel and Accessories.

I adore Caroline's technique and the way she uses simple contouring without loosing any design details. I also love that the croquis are so well-styled and complete with glasses, handbags, and even jewelry. The original illustrations can be seen in the 57th street store and all the other stores display copies. I absolutely love this concept for store displays. You get to see how the designer intended for the clothing to look, get styling ideas, and see the fabulous fashion illustrations that started it all.

These sketches inspire me to pick up my sketchbook and a pencil and let the idea's flow. Lately my sketches are solely for clients and have a distinct direction, such as a "profile of a bride." Its hard sometimes to make time for sketching for the sake of sketching.

Thank you Shannon, for using your investigation skills and helping me out!

Fashion Week Spring 2011

(Peter Som and Monique Lhuillier)

New York Fashion Week is well underway so what better time to feature designer fashion illustrations from the collections. I love the simplicity of the fine pencil lines of this Peter Som sketch, and the heavy pen line and lack of skin tone in the Monique Lhuillier illustration frames the soft and frilly dress perfectly.

(Nanette Lepore and Tibi)

I haven't used watercolors since college but these illustrations from Nanette Lepore and Tibi make be want to dust off my brushes and play.

(Ella Moss and Peter Som)

Rendering patterns accurately can be a challenge, but Ella Moss makes it look effortless in her illustration of printed separates. And the Adam sketch appears quick and casual yet its completely readable and charming.

I discovered these sketches in the newest Pantone color trend report. Ten colors are highlighted throughout the report that are trending in fashion for the spring/summer 2011 season.