Fashion Illustrations

When I was supposed to be writing my dissertation, I took many journeys into color.

The day after I passed my qualifying exams I went to the fabric store, returned home with an armful of cottons, and taught myself to piece and quilt by hand.

Then I enrolled in a fashion illustration class, in the same department where the Sartorialist studied, though I don’t believe our paths crossed. (I took my class in fall 1996.)

One of our projects was to assemble a portfolio on a theme and I chose to do an update of the film Sabrina. Julia Ormond’s forgettable remake had come out the previous year, and I felt like redeeming that narrative—giving it the re-vision that it deserved.

So I illustrated Naomi Campbell as Sabrina—waiting at the train station upon her return from Paris, celebrating in Paris by the Eiffel Tower, taking a moonlight stroll near the tennis courts.

I also did Sabrina/Naomi in a ball gown, the photo of which I incorporated into a sample Vogue article I wrote for an interview: a mock-up of that magazine’s “People Are Talking About” pages. I was talking about the bustle.

The images were inspired by a Vanity Fair spread, one I can no longer recall, so I’m unsure how closely I followed the color scheme of the clothes. One memorable moment during my whirlwind of Conde Nast interviews was showing these illustrations to the lovely managing editor at VF, who recognized the Galliano dress from the original shoot.

Drawing (and painting) clothes and the body was a transformative experience: my eye changed out of necessity. I think it might be time to begin looking in this manner again, a decade or so later. I know the wonderfully talented Patricia illustrates; does anyone else?