Fa Fa Fa Fa Fashion
I've already started listening to Christmas music, as a self-care tool to feel joyful in the gloom of November. Who says it's forbidden to start before December 1st anyway? The queen of Christmas agrees with me (I found this hilarious!).
On that note, there won't be a blog post next month so I can fully enjoy the festive season. 🎄
Gucci here, there and everywhere
It's not as if it wasn't a famous fashion house before, but I feel like since 2018 everybody and their dog are talking about Gucci. Or that's when I became aware of it anyway—although why this 2016 campaign with Tom Hiddleston 😍 didn't grab my attention is a mystery.
But for me it started with this campaign of stunning digital paintings by Ignasi Monreal in February 2018. Then I saw another illustrated campaign on Nour Flayhan's Instagram. Then there were these ads featuring Harry Styles in a chippy shop, which was 🔥 (didn't care much about Harry before tbh). We apparently have Gucci's creative director Alessandro Michele (appointed in 2015) to thank for this new direction. Something I probably should have known considering I worked in fashion for 10 years, but here we are.
Now the brand is everywhere on my Instagram, from Aminatou Sow (of Call Your Girlfriend podcast fame) to Mona Chalabi to Janaya Future Khan. Iris Apfel – who, like Gucci, turned 100 this year – recently wore this suit for Harper's Bazaar US, same as the one I illustrated. She looks amazing in it, as she always does.
Illustration close-ups
I didn't use my usual (digital) brushes for the illustration. I tried to get inspiration from David Hockney's and Egon Schiele's drawings and use unrealistic colours for the skin, but turns out it's really hard for me to loosen up my style. Something to work on I guess (not using the iPad would probably help accept 'happy accidents'...). I'm not mad at the result though.
Hope you have a lovely and joyful end of 2021. We all deserve some time off and a reset after yet another roller coaster of a year. See you in 2022!
Judith xx
Other illustrators loving Gucci at the moment:
Inspirations
Egon Schiele, Self-Portrait with Peacock Waistcoat, 1911Book recommendation
Double book recommendation this month! These two graphic novels are beautiful, both for their illustrations and their stories. Both have limited dialogue and give space to evoking cinematic scenes which say just as much, if not more, than words.
Will McPhail's In will make you laugh and cry. He can illustrate such an impressive range of emotions with just a few lines and the addition of colours in just the right places.
Mireille St-Pierre's La Brume is tender and contemplative. The emotions are felt through the rhythm of the layout, giving you the time to take in the illustrations and feel what they mean to convey.
Will McPhail's In will make you laugh and cry. He can illustrate such an impressive range of emotions with just a few lines and the addition of colours in just the right places.
Mireille St-Pierre's La Brume is tender and contemplative. The emotions are felt through the rhythm of the layout, giving you the time to take in the illustrations and feel what they mean to convey.
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