The Fashion Informer

“Fashion Illustration by Fashion Designers” Offers a Graphic Peek Inside Designer’s Minds

Laird Borrelli is clearly smitten with fashion illustration. Her first two books, “Fashion Illustration Now” and “Fashion Illustration Next” were paeans to the work of professional graphic artists such as Mats Gustafson, Jeffrey Fulvimari, Ruben Toledo, Julie Verhoeven, Mode 2, Koji Iwashi and Maren Esdar, among others.

Her new book, "Fashion Illustration by Fashion Designers" (Chronicle Books, $40), continues the tradition by paying visual salute to the drawings of 50 international designers, from established couturiers Christian Lacroix, Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent to emerging talents such as Phillip Lim, Costello Tagliapietra, Christopher Kane, Giles Deacon, Riccardo Tisci, Alexander Terekhov and Doo-Ri Chung.

“I can’t draw, but to me, looking at a photo is more like reading prose, whereas an illustration is more like fiction,” Borrelli, a fashion historian and senior fashion editor at style.com, told The Fashion Informer last week. “I always think of them sort of like children’s books for grownups because they kind of tell the story in a different way. I love that fantasy element and getting a window into how someone’s imagination works.”

Indeed, looking at Phillip Lim’s spare headless ink on paper line drawings, Aitor Throup’s colorful punky characters, Badgley Mischka’s bejeweled glam goddess sketches, Rodarte’s whimsical colored pencil and ink maidens and Bruno Frisoni’s modern impressionistic babes - rendered in marker pen and colored pencils in a way that suggests his gals are ready for action, even while at rest - offers a fascinating peek at the origins of these designer’s creative process and a little bit of insight into their personality.

Sonia Rykiel, for instance, sketches in a manner that reflects the boldness (or “Gallic insouciance,” as Borrelli aptly puts it) of her finished creations, while Stephen Burrows opts for more realistic crayon and mixed media renderings designed to “capture the mood and posture” of the collection he’s working on. Tuleh’s Bryan Bradley scrawls little notes (“For life, love, sex & fashion...”) in the margins of his elegant illustrations, which recall the wink-wink knowingness of his fashions. Walter Van Beirendonck’s beefy boys, sketched in bright yellow leggings or buffalo check pants using ink and colored pens, resemble the Belgian designer himself. Zang Toi, meanwhile, uses a black roller on white paper and methodically sketches “over and over again” until the drawing is an exact replica of the ensemble he’s envisioned in his imagination. And Molly Grad’s subversively sexy, doll-like characters (some fully realized watercolors, others rendered as an ink on paper x-ray of skeletal tendon and bone) are as otherworldly as the folded, knotted and pleated “demi-couture” collection she debuted upon graduating from London’s Central St. Martins.

Unlike the professional illustrators Borrelli featured in her previous books, who are given a specific assignment (“We need you to illustrate a beauty image or looks from Gaultier’s latest collection”), a designer’s illustrations are, for the most part, a private enterprise not intended for public viewing - which, for a fashion fan, makes seeing them all the more thrilling.

“A fashion illustration by a professional illustrator is usually editorializing something that already exists,” explains Borrelli. “But these drawings generally are a starting point for something. And the designers seem to be divided almost equally in half [about their process], like Christian Lacroix, who told me something he drew as a bathing suit ended up as a baroque wedding dress, whereas Roksanda Ilincic says she feels like her garment’s successful when it looks exactly like the drawing. So for one, the drawing is a basic starting point, while other people use their illustrations as maps.”

In fact, it’s Borrelli’s attempt to capture something of each designer’s creative process - along with the diverse nature of the drawings themselves (some of which were culled from well-organized archives, others yanked down from the designer’s inspiration board and sent with fabric swatches attached, still others discovered beneath piles of books or magazines in the corner of a designer’s studio) - that makes "Fashion Illustration by Fashion Designers" such a fun, compelling read.

And according to Borrelli, this may very well be the first in a series. “Of course, as soon as you finish a book, you find something amazing,” says the author with a chuckle. “Like, I got Celia Birtwell to agree to do it but it was too late to include her. That was so frustrating. But it’s just impetus to start collecting for a new one.”

We’ll be waiting...

Photos © The Fashion Informer

"Atmosphere" by Linda Troeller: Life Well Lived at the Chelsea Hotel

As a kid growing up in Upstate New York I was, from as early as I can remember, besotted with with the idea of fashion and the idea of living in New York City, probably because I saw in both the inherent possibility for transformation and reinvention – of oneself and one’s life - although at the time, my pre-teen self wouldn’t have been able to articulate my yearnings as such, and I fixated instead on the surface trappings of the pretty clothes I saw in magazines and the exciting, glamorous life that I imagined awaited in that glittering city that lay south of our sleepy little town.

One of my fondest memories of that period was curling up in a wicker chair in my parents’ leafy backyard – or in front of our fireplace in winter – to read Mary Cantwell’s column, “Eat,” which ran for nearly a decade in the now-defunct Mademoiselle magazine. Though ostensibly a food column (each essay ended with a recipe), “Eat” was, in fact, a highly evocative monthly snapshot of Cantwell’s life in the big city, and I happily followed along as the peripatetic editor moved, with two small daughters in tow, to various sublets in the far West Village (this was back when the area was still a high-minded literary, not a high-end retail, mecca). And, for a few short but highly memorable months one year, Cantwell & co. decamped to the legendary Chelsea Hotel on 23rd Street while awaiting renovation on the West Village brownstone she would inhabit for much of her later life.

Cantwell’s life at the Chelsea Hotel struck me, at the time, as being impossibly romantic, bohemian, artistic and glamorous - an impression that has stayed with me to this day, despite having now lived in Manhattan myself (Cantwell’s own West Village, in fact) for some 20-odd years.

So it was with great pleasure that I paged through Linda Troeller’s book, “Atmosphere: An Artist’s Memoir of the Chelsea Hotel,” a collection of photo essays of stylish, artistic-minded individuals who seem to be as enamored of the possibilities afforded by life in New York City – and at the Chelsea Hotel, in particular - as I was so many years ago. After all, the Chelsea, which was originally built back in 1884, has been home, at one time or another, to Sarah Bernhardt, O. Henry, Mark Twain, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Patti Smith, Robert Mapplethorpe, William Burroughs, Arthur Miller, Thomas Wolfe, Dylan Thomas, Andy Warhol, Eugene O’Neill, Marianne Faithfull, Black Sabbath, Robert Rauschenberg, Milos Forman, Leonard Cohen, Dee Dee Ramone and Sid Vicious, to name a few of the more well-known residents.

Each of Troeller’s images is accompanied by a letter – a mash note, really – addressed “Dear Chelsea Hotel,” in which the photo’s subject(s) share with us what it is they love about the Chelsea; what drew them there in the first place and what has kept them there all these years (for it seems that most residents who inhabit the Chelsea have lived there a long, long time and see no reason to ever move.)

In addition to the more expected artistic types (actors, writers, musicians, painters, etc.), quite a few of the hotel’s residents are fashion industry insiders, drawn by the eclectic mix of creative people, and the energy and buzz that come from communal living – for the Chelsea is nothing if not communal – all under the watchful eye of the hotel’s beloved longtime manager, Stanley Bard.

So here you’ll find “2001: A Space Odyssey” screenwriter Arthur C. Clarke talking about writing that movie in the Chelsea Hotel, pianist Bruce Levingston on practicing his piano en suite at 2 a.m., or artists Christo and Jean Claude sharing their memories of staying at the hotel in the early 60s, alongside photos of designer Zaldy and fashion muse Rufus Wainwright (the latter of whom no longer lives in the Chelsea but returns often to visit friends and see his dentist, who’s also a resident). Ethan Hawke was a recent habitué. Vogue Fashion Features Director, Sally Singer, lives here with her husband, the writer Joseph O’Neill, and their three sons, as does style icon/nightclub impresario Suzanne Bartsch and her husband, David Barton, with their young son.

The images themselves range from cozy portraits of domestic family life to moody shots of the hotel's denizens of the night (there's a club in the basement) to artsy shots of the Chelsea's more famous residents performing onstage or stalking its storied gothic hallways to cinematic scenes shot outside on the street to countless shots of artists, writers, cross-dressers, transients and notables in their rooms, boasting decor that ranges from surprisingly luxe to, errr...not so much.

The overriding impression is of a soulful haven that encourages (or, at least, tolerates) eccentricity, nurtures creativity, and inspires individuality. Is it any wonder, then, that nearly everyone featured in this book is as captivated by the Chelsea Hotel as I was as a teenager in rural New York?

More than anything, though, “Atmosphere” is one woman’s moving paean to the place that ignites her passion and feeds her dreams on a daily basis. Given that the Chelsea Hotel is now under new, more bottom-line-driven management, Troeller's book may be a swan song, of sorts, to the institution so many artists have called home. Reading it offers a unique insider’s perspective on living in a legendary residence that, for now at least, still favors creativity over capitalism.

“Atmosphere: An Artist’s Memoir of the Chelsea Hotel” ($29.95) can be purchased at http://lindatroeller.com.

Photos © Linda Troeller

The Goddess Guide? Not So Good.

"What makes a woman a 'goddess?'" asks the press release that accompanied "The Goddess Guide" by Gisele Scanlon (HarperCollins; $20). "She must know where to find the absolute best vintage clothes...and know why the soles of Christian Louboutin heels are always brilliant red. She must know where to find the top perfumes in Paris, and the best Hollywood smile make-over while in New York. She must know how to decorate a room flawlessly, the secret to having perfectly toned arms and where to buy the fluffiest duvet at a moment's notice."

Aside from the fluffiest duvet part (we didn't realize our sisters in style were obsessed with finding downy bedding at the drop of a hat), we were intrigued by the premise of this fashionable how-to, not least of all because Scanlon's advice came wrapped in such a beautiful little package.

A Dublin-based writer and illustrator for Irish Tatler and The Irish Independent, Scanlon's jewel box of a book boasts an eye-popping hot pink cover beneath a flocked velvet overlay, and opens to reveal a series of fanciful photos, illustrations and super cool mixed-media collages that are definitely a treat for the senses (well, the visual sense, anyway).

Scanlon is as talented a writer as she is an artist, and she does offer up some juicy tidbits and profiles, whether it's interesting and irreverent Q&As with Philip Treacy, Christian Louboutin, Alice Temperley, Dolce & Gabbana, Tracey Emin, Laura Mercier, Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog (we kid you not), or user-friendly advice on making up on the go (your face that is, not post-quarrel), cashmere care, how to choose the right jeans/coat/lingerie/handbag/perfume, etc., and how to brew a great cuppa, among other things, each section sprinkled liberally with good advice and clever Goddess Tips. And it's all presented in a lively, conversational style that's a lot of fun to read - Scanlon's got that "just us girls" thing down pat, despite the rarefied circles in which she travels.

She lost us, however, whenever she left the safe haven of fashion and ventured farther afield, as in the section on travel (these pieces aren't bad, but having nothing to do with style, they feel out-of-place in a book called "Goddess Guide," and made us wonder if the author needed to write about her travels in order to use her adventures as a tax write-off). The clubbing section also had us scratching our heads (do fabulous fashionistas really need tips on how to get past the doorman at Bungalow 8?), as did the section on cooking, with tips on boiling the perfect egg, making mashed potatoes, cleaning fish (!) and grilling a steak. Again, not sure what this has to do with being a Goddess. Ditto the countless Hints from Heloise-type suggestions on entertaining, cleaning, and other housekeeping matters, which reminded us of advice our grandma (who was a goddess of the domestic sort) might have dispensed c. 1963.

And Scanlon's use of the word Bling to title a jewelry section made us groan (bling?! who says that anymore?), as did a shot of the author in a plaid Burberry scarf (did she not get the memo that Burberry plaid is now the symbol of Chavs everywhere?). In fact, there are photos of Scanlon sprinkled liberally throughout "Goddess Guide," which also felt a bit odd - is she a respected fashion journalist or a wannabe celebrity? - including some inexplicable shots of her at the dentist getting veneers. (Gisele. Honey? No one but no one thinks that seeing you in the dentist's chair holding your gummy molds aloft is glamorous or Goddess-like, nor do they want to read about your teeth trials in detail. It's just gross.)

Why Scanlon's editor at HarperCollins allowed this section to make the cut is beyond us - and, in fact, "Goddess Guide" is so chock-full of info and suggestions (with upwards of 16 tips on some pages), that the whole thing could have benefitted from a good pruning. There's just too much here, and only half of it feels relevant to the overall theme.

The bottom line: "The Goddess Guide" is beautiful to look at, but to read? Not so much.

Photos © The Fashion Informer

“Free Gift With Purchase” - Backstage at the Beauty Biz

We don’t know Lucky magazine beauty editor Jean Godfrey-June, but if her 2006 memoir, “Free Gift With Purchase: My Improbable Career in Magazines and Makeup” (now out in paperback by Three Rivers Press, $13) is any indication, she’s the kind of smart, sassy, down-to-earth chick you’d love to have as a friend. The fact that she has ready access to a million and one beauty products - and likes to share - would just be icing on the cake.

While most fashion and beauty insider memoirs or novels tend to be of the highfalutin’ variety, in which the well-connected author drones on about about their fabulous life and their fabulous job and their fabulous friends and all the fabulous perks they get from said job and friends, making for an amusing but impossible-to-relate-read (see: Diana Vreeland’s “DV,” André Leon Talley’s “A.L.T.: 365+” and any of Plum Sykes’ slimly plotted roman-a-clefs), Godfrey-June comes across like one of us.

She’s the likable, no-nonsense girl-next-door who just happened to be obsessed with beauty and cosmetics from an early and just happened to grow up to get a to-die-for job covering the same, first at Elle magazine and now at Lucky. The fact that she still can’t seem to get over her good fortune, even after two decades as a beauty editor, makes her a winning and empathetic narrator. And the fact that she favors a take-no-prisoners approach when ripping the veil - make that mud mask - off the inner workings of the beauty industry and glossy magazine world makes “Free Gift With Purchase” an engaging and enlightening beach read extraordinaire.

Whether she’s poking gentle fun at the fragrance industry’s self-important Fifi Awards, debunking beauty company promises with refreshing honesty, frankly discussing the difficulty of maintaining editorial integrity in a business filled with freebies and swag, or talking about the many ridiculous products that cross her desk on a daily basis - she gets between fifty to two hundred “hope in a jar” products each and every day (“Some of them new...some of them gorgeous and innovative, and most of them just some dull cream...often wrapped up in an equally uninspiring package”), it always feels like Godfrey-June is sitting beside you on your beach towel, dishing like an in-the-know, beauty obsessed best friend would.

And the chapters she devotes to her time at Elle in the 1990s, where she became famous for the off-the-cuff “Godfrey’s Guide” column she penned each month, skewers her superiors - most notably the megalomaniacal, philandering French creative director-head photographer she nicknames “The Playboy” and his clueless American “model/editor/socialite” wife - in a wickedly delightful way that makes anyone who has ever wanted to give their own nasty, shallow, insecure boss a well-deserved bitch-slap sit up and cheer.

She does play nice, though, as when singing the praises of “Sally” (that’s Sally Hershberger to you and me), recalling her beloved editor-in-chief at Elle, discussing the benefits of self-tanner (in which she claims to bathe) and laser hair removal (“It’s genius!”) or extolling the brilliance of cosmetics queen Bobbi Brown.

Godfrey-June also provides great insider tips on makeup application, taking a flattering photo, the pros and (mostly) cons of plastic surgery, treating skin problems, what cellulite creams can and can’t do, and what to look for - and avoid - at the cosmetics counter, along with a wealth of other useful, user-friendly advice.

But perhaps the thing that makes this book such an engaging read, even for readers who are not remotely beauty obsessed, is that while Godfrey-June takes her job - and the power of cosmetics and beauty products to truly transform women, inside and out - with the utmost seriousness, she never takes herself or the beauty industry itself too seriously. It is this ability to clearly see and convey the difference between the two - “I do love my job....But you know, I’ve got a cousin who sits in front of a microscope all day, helping find cures for pediatric cancer. Me, I ponder lipstick” - that elevates “Free Gift With Purchase” miles above the standard fashion insider memoir.

Book Review: Bobbi Brown Living Beauty

Two years ago, The Fashion Informer interviewed makeup maven Bobbi Brown for a shopping story. During the several hours we spent together, we asked Brown what we could do to to get rid of the fine lines that had begun appearing at the corners of our eyes, which we crinkled for demonstration purposes.

"Umm, don't go like this," the pint-sized brunette laughed, crinkling her own eyes and pointing at the lines that appeared when she did so.

No, seriously.

"Seriously," she said, with a wave of her hand. "You can't worry about that stuff. Just take care of yourself....eat well, exercise....and moisturize, moisturize, moisturize."

Easy for her to say. At the time, she was 48 and looked ten years younger - and was obviously practicing what she preached.

In her new book, “Bobbi Brown Living Beauty” (Springboard Press; $30), a self-help beauty tome for women over 40, Brown, now 50, is still preaching the benefits of moisturizer, healthy eating and exercise. The preternaturally youthful cosmetics guru also advises readers on a host of other beauty topics, from tweaking one's hair color to offset the sallowness that can beset aging skin to the miracle that is Retin A (Brown’s a big fan) to the pros and cons of plastic surgery, fillers and Botox (Brown is not a fan), to learning to love - and make the most of - what Mother Nature gave you - all recounted in the down-to-earth, no-nonsense manner we’ve come to expect from the woman who made her fortune on natural-looking foundations, eye shadows and lipsticks that make women look like themselves, only prettier.

After opening with “Words of Wisdom” from a slew of equally age-defying celebrities (including Susan Sarandon, Vera Wang, Ann Curry, Mary Steenbergen and Vanessa Williams), and extolling the benefits of finding a good dermatologist and Rx skin treatments designed to remedy specific problems, Brown gets to the meat and potatoes of her beauty sermon in a chapter entitled The Makeup Face-Lift: Surgery-Free Ways to Wipe Away the Years.

Sounds like hyperbole, to be sure. But the before and after photos made an instant believer out of us, with page after page of near-miraculous transformations, in which, yes, years - and in many cases, decades - are removed from the faces of the women pictured, with nothing more than the right skin care routine (moisturize, moisturize, moisturize!) and the right combination of under eye concealer, foundation and skin-brightening cosmetics. Using easy-to-follow instructions, Brown offers step-by-step advice on a host of age-related beauty issues, from banishing extreme under-eye circles to minimizing fine lines and wrinkles to fixing uneven texture to filling in sparse browns and thinning lips.

Because the book is written in Brown’s trademark chatty/informative style, it’s like having your best friend sitting beside you - one who just happens to be a world-renowned makeup artist - giving you pointers as you primp in front of the mirror.

Brown also offers advice to the Menopause Set on cultivating the perfect wardrobe, BHRT hormone replacement therapy, the importance of diet and exercise (duh), and easy ways to modernize your look (ditch the mom jeans and Farrah Fawcett ‘do, ladies!). And she closes with advice from additional high-profile women who embody the notion of aging gracefully, including “O” editor at large Gayle King, photographer Kelly Klein. and Burberry vice chairman Rosemary Bravo.

But "Living Beauty"'s bookended chapters of famous faces sharing their views on their lives and looks aside, it’s Brown’s own positive, empowering take on aging and female beauty - and her user-friendly makeovers - that will have readers singing the praises of this feel-good, look good guide.