9 minute read
slow fashion in all its forms FEATURE Fall in love with Lara Mackenzie Lee’s abstract fashion illustrations
by MediaClash
HARD BOILED Lara Mackenzie Lee paints glorious fashion illustrations in the loosest style, boiling each look down to its essence. You can check out her work in a new show at Gray MCA
Lara illustrates Dries Van Noten AW19 pieces above and opposite; at the top and to the right are two typically architectural yet feminine catwalk looks from Ellery, the label founded by one-time fashion editor (and fellow Central Saint Martins graduate) Kym Ellery
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A mermaid-like piece by Givenchy (above), more Ellery and Dries Van Noten looks (top and bottom right, respectively) and, opposite, a blood red Marni piece with echoes of Carrie or Lady Macbeth
LARA ON LARA Tell us a bit about your approach to illustration, Lara… I tend to break down the subject at first glance into prominent shapes and colours. I look at the mass at hand, not the outline, and part of the excitement is figuring out how to balance those on the page, whilst still retaining the essence of the subject. I’m most often attracted to strong shapes, colours and contrasts, and look at communicating the overall theme and feel of a subject instead of the literal.
Sometime you tend to leave the heads off. How come? Balance is everything. Sometimes the shapes and colours need a little something more, and I try to balance them with black charcoal lines or crayon to guide the eye a little. It really depends on how abstract the drawing is, and who the drawing is for. I try to not think too hard about it or spend too much time on it, otherwise it tends to lose a sense of spontaneity and can feel a little too contrived. That said, those lines are the final step, and often make or break the final piece.
And how is your work continuing to develop? I used to go through a lot of sketches, painting in a very rapid and spontaneous manner, then evaluating what made the most sense in terms of composition in relation to the subject and building on that – which makes sense, as I started drawing in this style by documenting dance. I am now a lot more focused and refined in my approach. What I think is most exciting is that there seems to be a newfound freedom and interest in fashion illustration, and more generally in the ‘handmade’. I feel like it doesn’t have to be restricted to a certain style or format any more; the fashion industry is constantly crossing boundaries, referencing and commissioning work from various fields and showcasing it through diverse platforms. The possibilities seem endless – and appear to be paving the way for a much freer hand.
There’s a school of thought that says fashion illustration should be a simple thing: a beautiful depiction of the garment, where you can see every seam, and could perhaps study it then take a decent stab at reproducing it. And there’s another that says no, what’s the point of that? That’s what photography should be for.
Fashion illustration, the idea goes, can afford to be less literal, more suggestive; as much about the feel as the look. That’s certainly how Lara Mackenzie Lee feels, the one-time Central Saint Martins student interested in vivid colour and movement more than she perhaps is the finer details of each garment. Her work – seen on these pages – takes catwalk looks and turns it into abstract colours and lines; it’s a distinctive approach to fashion illustration, but by no means the only one, and that’s okay. Fashion illustration is having a moment, and there’s currently room for a wider range of styles out there than there has been at any time since the 1960s.
“Oh, it’s very much enjoying a resurgence,” says Connie Gray of Gray MCA, the Bath gallery that specialises in fashion illustration old and new, “with luxury brands increasingly turning to illustration to market their products. The most respected illustrators working today are regularly commissioned, and genuinely making a very good living from their incredible work. What I like about it is that they each have their own unique style, which a brand responds to. Their work tends to very much be a collaboration between the creative director of each brand, the marketing team and the illustrator.” Each of the various editions of Vogue published in the fashion capitals of the world tends to have its own distinct feeling, echoing the sensibilities of its host country, and Italian Vogue is often amongst the most ground-breaking. “It’s been at the forefront of revolutionary fashion stories since the 1960s,” Connie says, “and recently used fashion illustration on its front cover for the first time in decades. It actually made headlines around the world. This exciting new focus on illustration brings a fresh dimension to fashion stories.” And – somewhat inevitably – social media, in particular Instagram, is playing a significant role too. “During the fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan and Paris, Instagram is brimming with the key looks, illustrated in a multitude of different ways,” Connie says. “The drawings bring a new dimension to how each collection is perceived, and is one that more and more people are responding to when they see them pop up on their screen.”
Much less so than photography, of course, most illustrations are never meant to be a direct representation of a look. “Fashion designs and fashion illustration are two entirely separate things,” Connie says. “Fashion illustration is about creating an interpretation, an illusion of a look. It’s like opening a book with just a few quick sketches, and it’s for the reader to finish the look in their minds. To my mind, fashion illustration creates a mood that is entirely freeing.”
And this, of course, means that in many instances it’s almost entirely abstract. Take Lara Mackenzie Lee’s work, for instance, as seen on these pages.
“Almost all the key contemporary fashion artists have been schooled in the finest traditions of fine art drawing and life drawing,” Connie says, “and it is then for them to interpret how they wish to move their drawing onto a new level. Some, like Lara, are drawn by the influences of modern abstract artists of the mid 20th century, whereas other illustrators are drawn to the more realistic approach that was more fashionable in the earlier part of the 20th century. Either way, it is always fascinating to see the different approaches, and how they respond to what they see on the runway. There is no right or wrong; it is purely a question of what the viewer responds to. Lara’s work very much straddles the worlds of fine art and fashion documentation, bringing the two of them together for very beautiful but ‘fashionable’ end result.” n You can see, and buy, Lara Mackenzie Lee’s work at Gray MCA, 5 Margaret’s Buildings, Bath BA1 2LP; www.graymca.com “It’s a distinctive approach to fashion illustration” left: Ashley and Connie Gray of Gray MCA; right: How fashion illustration used to be, a 1935 ink and wash piece by Carl Erickson for American Vogue
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