Imagemakers

Rating:
Summary: !! IMAGEMAKERS: MUST HAVE FASHION ITEM !!
Review: Having lectured on the subject of fashion illustration for over a decade, I am an avid enthusiast and devotee of the subject and greatly admire the work of various artists working in this fascinating field.

The recently published, Imagemakers, by Martin Dawber, is one of the most comprehensive and compelling publications on the subject, to date. It details the work of over 50 of the world's most talented and relevant fashion illustrators as well as providing an insightful narrative of the current climate of the fashion illustration industry.

After a foreword by Jasper Conran, the artists' work is divided in to four sections; Reportage, Street Cred, Style Council and Avantist.

Each of the artists featured, are initially presented by an insightful and constructive passage, outlining their individual and distinct styles, followed by full-colour examples of their work.

The freshest, most sensational of the work appears in the final section, Avantist.

Anton Storey's beautiful portraits are near perfection in their fragmentary, elusive imperfection.

The work of Lidia Cerutti is a vision of expertly crafted, fashionable composition and an intelligent depth of palette.

The most breathtaking discovery of these professional fashion illustrators, is Fiona Wylie.
Her work is expertly executed whilst enriched with romantic and suggestive contemplation. The preciseness of line is staggering in its ability to capture such consciousness and genuine sentiment without a hint of tentative inhibition.

The work of these `up and coming' artists, featured in Imagemakers, vastly outshines their recognised rivals. For example, Jason Brooks, Julie Verhoeven and Daisy De Villeneuve have unfortunately become a staid parody of what appears to have been a one-trick-pony which they are either unwilling or unable to dismount.

One thing is certain, fashion illustration is becoming as sought after as the allure of the unique, hand-crafted and embellished designer garments they depict. Fashion illustration is no longer reserved as are the front row seats of a prominent catwalk show. I predict that in the near future, the aforementioned small handful of recognised illustrators lose their obligatory backstage-passes! I, for one, will be raising a glass of Moet to any and all of the new stars featured in Imagemakers... cheers!