Watercolor Fashion

Happy weekend everyone! A few days ago I stumbled upon these lovely watercolor fashion illustration ads and knew I had to share them with you. They're timeless, whimsical and just scream "Fabulous Doodles".

After a little research I learned that the watercolor paintings are all by the artist Holly Houk. She was commissioned by Kwiat to create a vintage-style backdrop for their latest advertising campaign of blue-tinted watercolor "models" for the jewels to lay over.

I think these ads are divine. I commend Kwiat on thinking outside the box and wish more brands would take advantage of all the talented painters, illustrators and artists out there.

Bridal Costume Illustration {Pam Am}

What do you get when you take a 60's period wardrobe paired with the hottest new show on television, then add in a beautiful wedding gown worn throughout the first two episodes? My favorite new show, ABC's Pan Am. (I realize I'm about a month late here, but thanks to my dvr, I watched all four episodes last night. Better late than never right!)

Within the first five minutes of the pilot episode of Pan Am one of the leading ladies wore the most lovely wedding gown, and I instantly fell in love. Laura played by Margot Robbie, donned this elegant duchess satin gown with a fitted bodice, voluminous gathered skirt, and tiny bow detailing at the shoulders and waistband.

I quickly grabbed my sketchbook to capture the look and since I really like the outcome I've added it to BrooklitBride so you can purchase your own print of my "Laura" bridal costume illustration. I can't wait to see what the costume designers come up with next. I'm hoping there are many more elegant affairs ahead.

(Image of ABC's Pan Am taken from my tv.)

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.

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)