David Downton, Capturing Couture

You don't hear a lot about fashion illustrations theses days. In fact, they are part of a dying bread of artists who during the 20s and 30s had their work plastered on everything from magazine covers to cigarette packets. Recently, there has been a bit of a frenzy over illustrators depicting various outfits on Instagram, with Rihanna and Kim Kardashian frequently posting images of themselves as portrayed by budding young artists. Yet, these images are almost all done digitally or with modern drawing techniques to achieve a bright, colourful look loved by the younger generation of today. There are not many illustrators out there who still practice their skill with the old fashioned finesse and precision we have grown to love, except maybe for David Downton.

I actually discovered David Downton a few months ago while reading British Vogue and fell in love with his work. Born in Kent 1959 and educated at Canterbury, Downton had a passion for art from a young age, later moving to Brighton to forge his illustrating career. But it was not until the late 90s, when Downton was asked to sit front row at couture shows, sketching the models and the clothes with a sense of grace and elegance that his fashion career really took off.

Since then, his work has been featured in most fashion publications, including Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, The Times, Telegraph Magazine and has worked for iconic brands such as Chanel, Dior, Tiffanys, Top Shop and luxury department store Harrods. Now, Downton has a brand new book out, 'Masters of Fashion Illustration,' which is packed full of his wonderful drawings over his 10 years spent at Haute Couture fashion week. As well as runway pictures, Downton has also drawn a number of portraits of models Twiggy, Kate Moss and Linda Evangelista as well as actresses Cate Blanchett, Dita von Teese and Elizabeth Taylor which are all worth a look at.

Take a look at some of David Downton's amazing pieces below...
Masters of Fashion Illustration by David Downton and Carmen Dell'Orefice, £19.95 is available at all book stores and online.