Getting To Know Our Paris Menswear Illustrator Huxley Dobner

'Traditionally drawing is to art what singing scales is to opera - a backstage craft. Everybody who makes art draws... whether to make line-association wanderings or put thoughts on paper. Its ingredients are cheap and disposable and don't intimidate. It's like wanting to cook and stopping at bacon sandwiches. Drawing is immediate and equivocal, changeable and emphatic.' A.A. Gill, Pour Me A Life.

Part of my job as the art and culture editor at SHOWstudio is to find (and champion) new talent, be it fashion illustrators, performance artists, painters and designers. I favour no medium, but it should be a no-brainer that talent, especially when someone has an abundance of it, is always a plus.

Arguably, one of the more joyous tasks I have the privilege of carrying out - alongside our director Nick Knight and gallery assistant Hollie Hunsdale - is to creatively commission young illustrators to interpret fashion's latest collections for SHOWstudio. Seeing what each artist makes of it, how their style is adapted to suit the vision of the collection they're depicting, along with the heady surprise every time an illustration is unfurled is a continuous thrill.

Of course, some things are steadfast in how this process goes, not everything that comes our way is an unpredictable delight. For one, we never work with live illustrators, instead asking the artists to solely depict a collection remotely. This is so the metaphorical pool of artists we choose from isn't limited and ensures it's global. We also believe this approach allows the artist the sanction of time and consideration - a luxury when you compare it with the alternative: the head-rush-all-consuming-fish-out-of-water experience of illustrating from the front row. A dizzying experience at best meaning your illustrative hand isn't the only thing in motion, so are the dresses you're depicting, live. Another element that isn't necessarily a rule on our behalf but rather the bog-standard go-to, is many of the illustrations we receive are works on paper. What else are they meant to work with, after all? Clay, you say? Sure! But they seldom do.

You get the picture: drawing, the art of drawing, paper, its weightlessness, its perfectness - it's all part of it. But what about when an illustrator comes along who is different from the pen-to-paper, paint-to-canvas pack? Welcome 17-year-old Huxley Dobner who, despite his age, is one of the most talented young artists SHOWstudio has ever had the privilege of working with because of his unique approach to drawing that sees him forgo every single necessity you and I have associated with the medium of illustrating up until now (paper, paintbrush, canvas). Embracing a paper-free artist's lifestyle in favour of working with what he's got, Dobner's Paris menswear interpretations included a Rick Owens ink drawing featuring on the artist's bare back (yes, you read that right) as well as an Owens look imprinted onto the artist's bathroom sink (before turning the tap on to wash it away). Genius. I shouldn't have to explain why. Encapsulated by the artist's visionary approach, I reached out to ask him a few questions about the eccentricity of his work and authenticity of his ideas in tandem with his Paris A/W 25 menswear fashion illustrations.

Christina Donoghue: What goes through your mind when you're faced with a blank page/object before you start with an illustration?

Huxley Dobner: I usually see a very clear vision of what I want and exactly where on the page. As soon as I see a look from a collection that interests me, it’s only a matter of seconds before I know how I want to illustrate it. It’s more a matter of how quickly I can find a piece of card and some ink.

I find that if I think too much about what I’m illustrating, it hinders the actual piece. I love being bold with my brushstrokes or lines, even if I’m not 100% sure of what I’m doing. I like the challenge of problem-solving an error and working it into the piece by embracing its imperfection. Sometimes, I think our bodies are smarter than our minds in making certain decisions. Overthinking can be the death of art.

CD: What was your favourite illustration you created for your Paris coverage and why?

HD: The one on my back; I had the most fun making that. And trying to hold a handstand while shooting an illustration on my back is something I’ll never forget.

CD: Your work intentionally lacks colour, why?

HD: In the modern world, most creative practices are now free from any restrictions, and while that’s amazing, I think a rule or two creates a wonderful friction to clash with. By choosing to only work in black and white, I find I have to be more original and push myself more to make this ‘restricted’ illustration on par with that if I used colour. I’m not sure I would have looked to my sink or my own body if I was using colour as the illustration would've spoken for itself. Placing restrictions encourages you to think outside the box.

CD: There's a very specific kind of creativity to your work that is incredibly unique. Can you talk about how you came up with the different scenarios that accommodate your drawing? Like the sink and the poses?

HD: To be honest, this was the first time I’ve illustrated for something or someone other than myself. I was very neurotic about having to produce the most amazing work I could conjure, and because of that, I felt like I couldn’t even draw a stick figure right, out of fear. But one night, I was cleaning up and poured leftover ink into a sink, and I just loved the bleeding and the shapes, so I thought I might as well try.

I've always had the idea in the back of my mind to use the shapes of ink when you pour it into a sink and wash it away, and I thought this was the perfect opportunity. I found that as soon as I moved away from restricting myself to only paper, I was back to normal and didn’t worry about making something look good, as I knew it was going to be washed away eventually. That Idea was a springboard that pushed me to move further away from paper. The idea of my body came from wanting to use my dad’s body as a base for my ideas. I originally wanted to incorporate his short hair, but then I realised my longer hair shares a lot of visual language with the new Victor Clavelly boots in the collection, so I sketched out my back upside down and worked out how to fit the illustration so it would bleed into my hair. After designing the actual illustration, I got my dad to press the still-wet illustration on my back, clean it up a bit, and shoot it with my hair wet while doing a handstand.

Truthfully, I kind of missed paper when I was showering off the illustration on my back. So, I sat back down in the same place I started and just enjoyed the simplicity of not having to worry about my illustration bleeding into the drain before I was finished, or figuring out how to get ink stains off of skin. There's a beauty to the permanence of committing to paper.

CD: What fashion makes the best illustration?

HD: I always love watching a show where you can see in a look a real sense of character: feeling that I know where this person is headed, what they do, how they sound, how they act. All these things help give me an idea of whether their pose should indicate nervousness or confidence, if their hair’s frazzled from running around all day, or if it’s perfectly straight.

CD: You've said that your style is influenced by your childhood. What would you say was most formative for your illustration style? (from your childhood)

HD: Watching Tim Burton films on repeat. I love the physicality of all his character designs, with these inhuman proportions, as if a gust of wind could shatter their bones all at once. I also think he has such an amazing way of making dark, macabre things really beautiful which I love, challenging our ideas of beauty; like Emily from Corpse Bride with her ribs poking out of her wedding dress. I love that. I find this is a great way to add depth to my work: if everything’s happy and perfect all the time I feel the result will look shallow or sterile, you only get a sense of character if something is off.

CD: If you could have dinner with any artist, who would it be and why?

HD: I’d love to have dinner with Dali and try and convince him to take me to Studio 54. He just seems mad and hilarious, and I love his clothes. I would probably spend the whole night begging for one of his suits.