Vintage Fashion Is Given An Illustrative Makeover In Jessica Bird’s Latest Exhibition
Fashion is a muse to many, whether it be to artists like Louise Bourgeois, who came to be known in the fashion world for her dear friendship with Helmut Lang or to the photographers, writers, stylists and designers that make up the industry.
One illustrator who sees fashion as her muse is Jessica Bird, a longtime collaborator of SHOWstudio and one of the artists featured in our Drawing Daphne exhibition; Bird's incredible line work - along with many other contributing artists - turned the exquisite wardrobe of Daphne Guinness on its head, refashioning the icon's vintage collection through the use of crayon, pencil, pastel and paint. However, the heiress' heavenly fashion archive isn't the only wardrobe Bird has found herself illustrating this summer. Cue the artist's latest exhibition, Fashion Is A Muse.
Depicting selected pieces from the 18.01 archive, the exhibition and subsequent auction' sees Bird's work recontextualise the styling choices of nine celebrated stylists, including Luke Jefferson Day, Oliver Volquardsen, Molly Shillingford, Met Kilinc, Jordan Kelsey, Angharad Merrey, Eliza Conlon, Nathan Henry, and Jeanie Annan-lewin.
55 illustrations make up the exhibition in total, which opens to the public on 14 September. Doubling up as an auction, proceeds from the artworks will go towards supporting Arts Emergency and other UK-based charities, including Mermaids, Whittington Health Charity, Mind, OCD UK and St Joseph's Hospice, all at the choice of the stylists involved and Bird herself. ‘We are so grateful to all those involved who have helped out, sponsored or given their time making it possible for us to give all proceeds to these amazing charities who are making such impactful meaningful change in peoples lives’, Bird told us over email. ‘Protecting the arts is vital and with this project we are able to help young people get into creative fields through Arts Emergency and to really celebrate what that can look like.’
The aim of the project? It's as simple as uniting individuals in the creative community to support a meaningful and impactful cause. ‘We wanted to create a platform for celebrating creativity, inspiring new ideas, and evoking a sense of nostalgia for the theatrical fashion eras of the past’, said Bird. ‘Uniting individuals in the creative community and encouraging creative play in an environment where there was no set brief or outcomes has been so wonderful and freeing for all involved.’ Speaking of her favourite way to work, Bird added, ‘As the artist, to have the opportunity to work live from a styled model was incredibly inspiring - the fashion illustrator's dream - to work on something collaborative in such a human, authentic and analogue way in an often digital, disconnected world has been truly special.’
The works are available to bid now via The Auction Collective, which will stay open until 18 September. The exhibition will open towards the end of the auction on 14 September. Starting bids are £35 - £125.
