1. 3 WAYS OF LOOKING<br />WHY?<br />Throughout history, self expression and individual style has varied greatly, being influenced by various factors such as politics, media and cultural ideas. My project will examine how in today’s culture where media is a much more powerful influence than ever before, exposure to mass media is correlated with mixed messages about what is an appropriate or acceptable way for young people to present themselves. I wish to educate young people on the history and origin of the styles they themselves choose to wear, but also promote freedom of expression and acceptance of others.<br />For so long, the ideal beauty has often been difficult to achieve, as the dominance of politics and cultural ideas have shaped the publics perception of how a person should look. Standards have unrealistic and difficult to obtain, yet people have even endured misery and pain to achieve them.<br />Back in the Victorian times of the 1900s, tiny waists were hugely popular. In the legendary movie Gone with the Wind, we saw Scarlet ask Mammy to make her corset tighter as it needed to be 13inches! 1910 was the Art Décor age of opulent fabrics and intricate embroidery. When the war began, practicality crept in. Women wore breeches to work in the mills and this trend can still be seen today on the Paris catwalks. 1920 brought with it the flapper girl with her bobbed hair and exposed limbs. Coco Chanel was the designer of the decade and introduced the little black dress. The 1930’s returned to a more gentile and ladylike appearance. In the 1940’s people had to be resourceful. Floral dresses, feral jumpers, wavy hair and red lipstick was the look of the land girls. The 1950s lived and breathed glamour as the movies of Hollywood were in full swing and promoted glamorous actresses like Marilyn Monroe. The birth of rock n roll introduced bad boys like James Deane and Marlon Brando in their jeans and leather jackets. The 1960s brought with it the gamine Audrey Hepburn in her little black dresses created for her by Givenchy. The 1970’s saw glam rock come alive, punks became part of the London sightseeing tour. Vivienne Westwood was one of the most influential designers and still remains today. The 1980’s had a new wave of music and new romantic fashion. Backcombed hair, shoulder pads and lashings of makeup was the look of the time. The 1990’s was the era of the supermodels. Then Kate Moss burst on the scene as their polar opposite and heroin chic was born.<br />Each decades style influences and icons have shaped how the fashion world is today. Young people are choosing styles but not fully understanding why they are in trend and where they originated. I aim to educate and thus inspire today’s generation to see beyond a brand name and discover the era or icon from whom their favourite trends have originated. I want my project to encourage experimentation and acceptance of individuality among young people today. <br />WHAT?<br />Fashion Illustration is the communication of Fashion that originates with illustration, drawing and painting. It is usually commissioned for reproduction in fashion magazines as part of an editorial feature or for the purpose of advertising and promoting fashion makers, fashion boutiques and department stores. Fashion illustrations are usually more stylised than a traditional portrait.<br />The process has been around for nearly 500years, ever since clothes have been in existence there has been a need to translate designs and ideas into garments and so there has been a need for fashion illustration. Fashion illustration is said to be a form of visual luxury. It is unique from other more modern methods used today as it shows the presence of work by hand. As well as showing the representation of a design or garment, fashion illustration has always served as a form of art.<br />In the late 1930s, Vogue began to replace its famous and much celebrated illustrated covers with photographic images. There was a decline in fashion illustration from here as it went from being one of the sole means of fashion communication to having a much smaller role. The first photographic cover of Vogue was a watershed in the mark of its decline. Despite this, Fashion Illustrators today work in a wider variety of modes than ever before. There are three main categories for these illustrators. These are the Sensualists, The Gamines and Sophisticates and the Technocrats. <br />Sensualists are defined as being strong and silent. They work in the fine arts tradition with paint, textures, ink, colour, woodblocks and stencils. Gamines and sophisticates generate imaginary worlds inhibited by flamboyant personalities. Their work is fugitive and they utilize elements of caricature and cartooning to formulate their characters. They are playful and their whimsical reference to older forms of fashion illustration in their work both undermine and renew the field. The Technocrats are those who employ digital means in the creation of their images. The draw but do not finish off with illustration. They digitally transform their images and work towards the end computer generated product.<br />The work of fashion illustrators is both descriptive and expressive. A fashion illustrator’s drawing conveys more than the simple appearance of a model and the apparel she wears. These artists stylise a great deal to achieve the effects they seek, exaggerating some aspects of the figure and clothing and diminishing the significance of others. It is the personality or character of the look that is the subject of most fashion illustration. Because fashion illustrators can often communicate the personality of clothes or of a designer in a more personal or particular way than can photography, they are still essential participants in the fashion industry. I feel this is an excellent way for me to communicate my project as it gives me freedom to manipulate my images and inspire interest in the fashion by creating a sense of personality within the illustrations.<br />WHO?<br />Looking good and expressing individual style are becoming more and more important to young people today. The style choices they make can be influenced by many factors, and as mass media is more widespread and influential than ever before, there are more and more options available, making it increasingly confusing and difficult for young people to choose an individual style or trend that suits them and that they feel comfortable fits their personality. <br />Although a huge factor in their lives, fashion and its origins are rarely fully understood by young people with the exception of those who may chose to study the field. Questions like where did the bob haircut that we see replicated so often originate? Who made denim jeans and leather jackets popular? Why have big hair and shoulder pads made yet another come back?! Who were the first icons to fashion these trends and why do they keep returning today? These are not questions that many young people today know the answer to, but they are little pieces of history that may create a better understanding of how and why fashion has become what it is today.<br />In the past, fashion was made easy to follow in the sense that each era had its icons and signature styles that can still be associated with the time. Due to huge mass media influences today, we see a mixed flurry of the past century of style and young people are inundated with images of glamour, grunge, rock, punk and much more. So how are the young people of today supposed to understand and accept each individual for who they are and how they look amidst so much confusion? Appearance is extremely important to young teenagers. They are all too well aware of the importance of their choice in style as regards fitting in. It is important that young people are more open minded than ever in the present day as individuality can be more extreme and expressive than ever before. Education is key, and I hope to educate young people about style throughout the past century, while creating an interest in fashion icons of the past who have such huge modern day influences. <br />My aim is to make this project an educational and interesting experience by the use of fashion illustration which as an art in itself can inspire and promote creativity among young people. I hope that through promoting an interest in trends and educating young people on why fashion is as it is, as such a huge part of today’s culture, I can create beautiful and inspiring images that can also be used also by advertisers, designers and fashion businesses where suitable. Fashion illustration can be seen in various areas throughout the fashion industry and I aim to create images that as well as being educational, will appeal to fashion houses, fashion designers, advertisers, shops or department stores.<br />