FASHION, INK. ART
Antonio Lopez
Mats Gustafson
born: 1943, Puerto Rico ethos: A wizard with pencil and paint (and quick-fngered with a Polaroid), this mustachioed dandy drew from life, and was as careful with his castings as with his colors. The result? Portraits of fashion. copilot: The dashing art director Juan Ramos was Antonio’s creative partner. beauty ideal: Long, lean, unexpected beauties, like Jane Forth, Jerry Hall, and Pat Cleveland.
born: 1951, Sweden ethos: While fashion roars, Mats whispers. Fuss interests him not at all, but silhouette does, immensely. Known in the ’80s for bold geometric lines in pastels, over time his work has morphed into fuid watercolors from which fashions and shadows from light appear as quietly powerful as a midnight sun. copilot: Visionaire, Harper’s Bazaar, and Italian Vogue have commissioned some of Gustafson’s most memorable works. beauty ideal: Confdent, serene, unforgettable.
Ruben Toledo
Julie Verhoeven
born: 1961, Cuba ethos: Illustration and a fair for dress might be the most visible of Ruben Toledo’s many talents, but even a quick study of his work reveals him to be a sociologist and calligrapher as well. Fashion is not something abstract to Toledo—it is lived, on the street, through his brush and becomes animated in the seams and folds of his wife Isabel’s clothing designs. Though he’s painted the world for Louis Vuitton, illustrating its city guides, it’s the free-spirited energy of downtown New York that permeates Toledo’s drawings. copilot: His red-lipped, raven-haired spouse. beauty ideal: See copilot, above.
born: 1969, England ethos: Kitsch-loving and music-obsessed Julie Verhoeven creates works that are mash-ups of media and message: a wistful waif might be depicted in candy colors, a playful sketch might also be an erotic one. Confdently executed with strong lines, Verhoeven’s work is unafraid to expose her process in splatters and smudges. She fnds beauty and delight in imperfection. copilots: Verhoeven has been courted as a collaborator by the biggest brands, including Louis Vuitton, Versace, and Mulberry. beauty ideal: Sad-eyed Lolitas and fat-bottomed girls—the latter is the title of her 2002 book, in which she illustrates her favorite records.
Tony Viramontes born: 1956, Los Angeles ethos: Maybe Tony Viramontes’s own beauty predisposed him to capturing that of others. What is certain is that this artist, with his confdent and lightning-fast hand, had the ability to distill the essence of chic or reveal a person’s character with a minimum of lines. Yet his work was anything but minimal: Viramontes shared with Antonio Lopez a vibrant sense of spontaneity, and with Patrick Nagel an interest in the graphic New Wave look of the ’80s. copilot: The in-demand Viramontes had a special relationship with Valentino, whose ads he illustrated. beauty ideal: Shrinking violets were not of interest to Viramontes, who preferred his women ferce (hence the album cover he designed for Janet Jackson’s Control), while his men were part pretty boy and part Tom of Finland. 40
Clockwise from top left: Fantasia (1920), © Sevenarts Ltd.; Fashions of the Times (1965), courtesy Galerie Bartsch & Chariau, Munich; Linda Evangelista (1999), courtesy Galerie Bartsch & Chariau, Munich; Rolling 1 (2012), courtesy Julie Verhoeven; Isabel Toledo Jellyfsh Collection (1994), courtesy Ruben Toledo; Janet Jackson Control (1985), from Bold, Beautiful and Damned, the World of 1980s Fashion Illustrator Tony Viramontes by Dean Rhys Morgan (expected 2013), courtesy Tony Viramontes Studio Archive
Erté born: 1892, Russia ethos: Born Romain de Tirtof at the turn of the 20th century, he became a brand—before the concept took on its modern characteristics—when he styled himself Erté (the sound of his initials, R. T., when pronounced in French). His work is an exemplar of Art Deco style, sophisticated, remote, with a hint of fash that is a remnant, perhaps, of his background as a costume designer for screen and stage. copilot: Harper’s Bazaar featured Erté drawings on its covers for more than two decades. beauty ideal: Embellished deco dames.
Some of the industry’s most memorable works graced the page, not the form. These iconic illustrators have sketched their way into fashion history