Masters of Fashion Illustration

This lavishly illustrated and beautifully designed book celebrates the colourful lives and dazzling work of the great twentieth-century fashion illustrators, as chosen by one of today’s leading fashion artists, David Downton.

With a foreword by the legendary model Carmen Dell’Orefice, the book follows the careers of Downton’s favourite artists, from the great social portraitist of the belle époque, Giovanni Boldini, to the architect of 1980s’ New Wave glamour, Tony Viramontes (including along the way such celebrated names as Erté, Carl Erickson, René Bouché, Andy Warhol and Antonio Lopez).

The book concludes with a portfolio of David Downton’s own work, featuring drawings of the Paris haute couture shows and portraits of contemporary icons such as Dita Von Teese and Erin O’Connor. Many of the stunning images in Masters of Fashion Illustration have not been seen since they were first published.

Over the last decade, David Downton has gained a reputation as one of the world’s leading fashion artists. His classically elegant, yet highly contemporary images have been a strong factor in the resurgence of interest in fashion illustration.

Having originally trained in graphics, David’s natural ability with the human form, spontaneous approach and economy of line rapidly led to a hugely successful career working with, among others, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, V magazine, Chanel, Tiffany’s New York, Van Cleef & Arpels, Harrods, TopShop, Lancôme and the V&A Museum.