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Fashion Illustration

1984 (published)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Tony Viramontes was a leading fashion illustrator who received editorial commissions from some of the key magazines of the 1980s, including Per Lui in Italy, Marie Claire in France and the American edition of Vogue. He also created distinctive work for British ‘style bible’ The Face, where he collaborated with stylists such as Ray Petri as an associate member of his Buffalo Crew. His hard-edged and direct style of illustration portrayed female models as muscular, overtly masculine characters, blurring boundaries of gender and sexuality, and providing a dynamic counterpoint to the fashion imagery of photographers such as Helmut Newton who explored similar issues in their work. He resisted the label of “illustrator” and considered his work to be more akin to that of an art director, often looking beyond traditional drawing materials to employ photography and collage in his images.

Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Watercolour and pencil on paper
Brief description
Fashion illustration by Tony Viramontes for Jean-Louis Scherrer haute couture, 1984
Physical description
A monochrome water-colour and pencil fashion illustration depicting a slender figure in side profile. The figure is dressed in an animal print outfit composed of blocks of black paint. Similar blocks of paint are used to depict the figure's hair and hand, creating the impression of fluidity between garment and model. In places white paint has been used to shape the edge and there is pencil smudging throughout. The drawing is signed by the artist.
Dimensions
  • Width: 43.4cm
  • Length: 64.8cm
Style
Production typeUnique
Credit line
Given by Edward and Anita Viramontes
Summary
Tony Viramontes was a leading fashion illustrator who received editorial commissions from some of the key magazines of the 1980s, including Per Lui in Italy, Marie Claire in France and the American edition of Vogue. He also created distinctive work for British ‘style bible’ The Face, where he collaborated with stylists such as Ray Petri as an associate member of his Buffalo Crew. His hard-edged and direct style of illustration portrayed female models as muscular, overtly masculine characters, blurring boundaries of gender and sexuality, and providing a dynamic counterpoint to the fashion imagery of photographers such as Helmut Newton who explored similar issues in their work. He resisted the label of “illustrator” and considered his work to be more akin to that of an art director, often looking beyond traditional drawing materials to employ photography and collage in his images.
Collection
Accession number
E.2-2014

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Record createdApril 18, 2013
Record URL
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