What do you think?
Rate this book
100 Years of Fashion Illustration
A visual feast of 400 dazzling images, this is a comprehensive survey of the genre over the last century. The book also offers an overview of the development of fashion, as seen through the eyes of the greatest illustrators of the day. Early in the century fashion illustration reflected new, liberating currents in art and culture, such as the exoticism of the Ballets Russes, while the postwar period saw inspiration from the great Parisian couturiers. After the dominance of the celebrity fashion photographer in the '60s, a new generation of illustrators emerged, embracing the medium of the computer, while many returned to more traditional techniques.
384 pages, Paperback
First published April 19, 2007
44 people are currently reading
3235 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
April 20, 2015
I just love looking at beautiful art! My love of fashion is directly influenced by my love of art. In my experience very little really separates the two and this book only cements that idea. It's this love of pretty things that has me addicted to websites like Pinterest, Style, and Etsy. While I'm among the few that are still clinging to my beloved fashion magazines trying to get past all the advertisements to the meaty bits for my couture cravings. Even with all the competition what has me loving 100 Years of Fashion Illustration is that here I got to see something entirely different then anything I've ever experienced with fashion. It's a trip through time and design as you're presented with all these amazing illustrations of beautiful women in beautiful dresses.
With each image there is also a little write up about the cloths, when it was drawn, by who, and for what purpose. It's great to see the illustration and then actually learn about the cloths being shown. It's more then what I expected! Attribution is one thing, but the research put into the cloths themselves is very interesting. There are also full 4 page essays throughout the book that talk about the time periods giving us readers a look at the production, history, and specific events that influenced fashion.
I'm not all raves about this book though. The formatting was completely wasteful of the space it had and frustratingly so! It could have easily been better formatted to fit more into less space. One example is where there are pages with an image that takes up the top 40-50% of the page and then below it is half a page of white space. Then the blurb is at very the bottom of the page. I could fit my whole hand laid flat across the page and not cover anything but the white space between the image and the short blurb. More then enough room to work with. There are other ways this book finds to waste space that is just baffling.
You don't want a book like this to feel too crowded, giving such beautiful work space to breath is a good thing, but you also want it to be an immersive and stunning experience. The amount of white space was overwhelming.
This leads into my biggest complaint: the price. This is the sort of book you want to own and absorb inspiration from. I could picture this on my table no problem, even with my frustrations with the white space, but with a $50 Canadian price tag that definitely won't ever happen. I know table top books generally go for a lot, but I've seen other collections produced better and for less.
It's disappointing to end on such a negative note, so I'll say this again. I really did love the content of this book. It's so amazing to see the artistry that goes fashion and see the illustrations that just bring the cloths to life in a whole new way!
With each image there is also a little write up about the cloths, when it was drawn, by who, and for what purpose. It's great to see the illustration and then actually learn about the cloths being shown. It's more then what I expected! Attribution is one thing, but the research put into the cloths themselves is very interesting. There are also full 4 page essays throughout the book that talk about the time periods giving us readers a look at the production, history, and specific events that influenced fashion.
I'm not all raves about this book though. The formatting was completely wasteful of the space it had and frustratingly so! It could have easily been better formatted to fit more into less space. One example is where there are pages with an image that takes up the top 40-50% of the page and then below it is half a page of white space. Then the blurb is at very the bottom of the page. I could fit my whole hand laid flat across the page and not cover anything but the white space between the image and the short blurb. More then enough room to work with. There are other ways this book finds to waste space that is just baffling.
You don't want a book like this to feel too crowded, giving such beautiful work space to breath is a good thing, but you also want it to be an immersive and stunning experience. The amount of white space was overwhelming.
This leads into my biggest complaint: the price. This is the sort of book you want to own and absorb inspiration from. I could picture this on my table no problem, even with my frustrations with the white space, but with a $50 Canadian price tag that definitely won't ever happen. I know table top books generally go for a lot, but I've seen other collections produced better and for less.
It's disappointing to end on such a negative note, so I'll say this again. I really did love the content of this book. It's so amazing to see the artistry that goes fashion and see the illustrations that just bring the cloths to life in a whole new way!
August 15, 2012
I love fashion and this is a fashion lovers book for sure. The illustrations in this book are iconic of the fashion and style of the times over the last 100 years that made huge differences and changes not only with fashion but with the world movement as a whole as well. The introduction gives a brief overview of fashion since the beginning which actually began in the sixteenth century, the goes into the 1900’s and beyond. I still find it interesting sometimes how fashion has changed. From the conservative simple pieces to bold and loud other the top pieces of today. But yet both still are in either times. I love fashion and how much it has changed over time and how much it is still evoking. The drawings in the book are beautiful and very characteristic of the times in which they were drawn and meant for the women as well of the time. Beautiful book.
September 11, 2021
Cudowny album ukazujący 400 przykładów ilustrowania mody na przestrzeni 100 lat. Każdy obraz wzbogacony jest o krótki opis, a wstęp do rozdziałów pomaga w zrozumieniu ówczesnego stylu i tendencji artystycznych. Z pewnością często będę wracać do tej książki aby zaczerpnąć z niej inspiracji.
August 21, 2022
If you just want to look at pretty pictures it’s great. If you’re hoping for an even overview by decade or era you’ll be quite disappointed. The modern era of fashion (post 1920) is over represented making the title really misleading.
March 24, 2018
A real gem - covering not only the development of fashion, but also highlighting the more important fashion designers, the development of design ideals and also introducing important illustrators and artists and saying something about their careers (which I knew far less about than the other subjects). And all lavishly illustrated.
July 25, 2012
Seeing the evolution of fashion and clothing and ideas over the course of 100 years can definitely give a designer, even an everyday reader like myself, a huge boost of inspiration.
Stunning visuals of everyday beauty and brilliant diversity of different techniques in artistic design.
Stunning visuals of everyday beauty and brilliant diversity of different techniques in artistic design.
October 1, 2023
In 100 Years of Fashion Illustration, Cally Blackman collates a series of fashion illustrations.
-My favorite might be Glen Baxter's humorous illustrations.
-I was really struck by Madeleine de Rauch Durani's 1949 print, which is also the first hit on google at the moment. Was this really an outfit from 1949?! It seems like it would work now.
-Is illustration useful/ good? Maybe it is, or can be. At one point, Blackman juxtaposes a photograph against an illustration and it seems clear that the illustration is more evocative of the aesthetic, even if it would be a less useful image on a shopping website. The more mass consumer culture takes over how we visualize clothing, the less power illustration has.
-By the end of the Peacock Revolution, fashion illustration seems to have lost its way. Older illustrations seem designed to show off the clothes, the aesthetic, and the lifestyle, maybe in a 60/ 20/ 20 split. But after the 1970s, it seems like it shifts to ratios as crazy (to me at least) as 10/ 40/ 50.
-It seems like the 21st century requires the subjects of the illustrations to be famous. The superficial celebrity matters as much as the aesthetic or the clothing, for better or worse.
-What should fashion illustration aspire to do today--is there even a niche? It seems to me that a lot of brands have banner screens when you go to their site. I don't know that photographs are doing a lot to establish an aesthetic. But I'm also not sure every brand has an aesthetic that would be well expressed through fashion illustration. It also seems to me (based on my gf's fashion exploration) that a lot of fashion is now instagram posts--could this be a way forward?
-My favorite might be Glen Baxter's humorous illustrations.
-I was really struck by Madeleine de Rauch Durani's 1949 print, which is also the first hit on google at the moment. Was this really an outfit from 1949?! It seems like it would work now.
-Is illustration useful/ good? Maybe it is, or can be. At one point, Blackman juxtaposes a photograph against an illustration and it seems clear that the illustration is more evocative of the aesthetic, even if it would be a less useful image on a shopping website. The more mass consumer culture takes over how we visualize clothing, the less power illustration has.
-By the end of the Peacock Revolution, fashion illustration seems to have lost its way. Older illustrations seem designed to show off the clothes, the aesthetic, and the lifestyle, maybe in a 60/ 20/ 20 split. But after the 1970s, it seems like it shifts to ratios as crazy (to me at least) as 10/ 40/ 50.
-It seems like the 21st century requires the subjects of the illustrations to be famous. The superficial celebrity matters as much as the aesthetic or the clothing, for better or worse.
-What should fashion illustration aspire to do today--is there even a niche? It seems to me that a lot of brands have banner screens when you go to their site. I don't know that photographs are doing a lot to establish an aesthetic. But I'm also not sure every brand has an aesthetic that would be well expressed through fashion illustration. It also seems to me (based on my gf's fashion exploration) that a lot of fashion is now instagram posts--could this be a way forward?
May 10, 2019
I barely know where to start with this book...
It's a great resource for anyone interested in fashion, art history & illustration, and how culture and fashion influence each other. It's divided into four sections by year. Each section has 2-4 pages of text overview for that time period, followed by pages upon pages of illustrations! Each illustration has a short caption as well, noting the illustrator, the designer, and usually some other information. At the end of the book is a short list of recommended further reading, as well as a list of all illustrators mentioned.
I originally loved the book just for the fashion that was being illustrated, but the variety of artistic styles represented quickly became an inspiration to me as a graphic artist. I'll definitely be bringing the book with me to my studios next year as inspiration!
It's a great resource for anyone interested in fashion, art history & illustration, and how culture and fashion influence each other. It's divided into four sections by year. Each section has 2-4 pages of text overview for that time period, followed by pages upon pages of illustrations! Each illustration has a short caption as well, noting the illustrator, the designer, and usually some other information. At the end of the book is a short list of recommended further reading, as well as a list of all illustrators mentioned.
I originally loved the book just for the fashion that was being illustrated, but the variety of artistic styles represented quickly became an inspiration to me as a graphic artist. I'll definitely be bringing the book with me to my studios next year as inspiration!
July 25, 2018
Even though I really appreciated some of the illustrations and thought the drawings in it self was wonderful, I still got a little bored towards the end. It was a lot to take in, and personally I wouldn't buy it as an "table book" myself. However, it was very exciting to see the fashion evolving throughout the years, and the different drawing styles from the early 1900 to recent times. You also got a short introduction that explained when it all started and told you about the first fashion magazines.
July 24, 2024
Scanned Scam-Buy At Your Own Risk
I usually don't write reviews, but I just had to after I finished this "book". Upon opening, I Immediately saw that it wasn't properly formatted ebook. It seems that someone took a hard copy from a library-There's a stamp in the index section!!-and scanned it. You can clearly see the the edges of the book!! The pictures are tiny and the text is blurry. Obviously Amazon didn't notice any of this and just put it up for sale. It's shameful, shady, & a total scam. I'm just glad I didn't pay full price for this piece of trash.
I usually don't write reviews, but I just had to after I finished this "book". Upon opening, I Immediately saw that it wasn't properly formatted ebook. It seems that someone took a hard copy from a library-There's a stamp in the index section!!-and scanned it. You can clearly see the the edges of the book!! The pictures are tiny and the text is blurry. Obviously Amazon didn't notice any of this and just put it up for sale. It's shameful, shady, & a total scam. I'm just glad I didn't pay full price for this piece of trash.
December 20, 2020
This was absolutely gorgeous and fascinating. It was so interesting to look at a capsule of all these time periods, the politics, world events, the fashion scene, the art scene, influences from other countries etc. through the eyes of so so many talented illustrators of the time. I could just stare at this book for ages.
A wonderful coffee table book to thumb through every time you have a few minutes to spare in your day.
A wonderful coffee table book to thumb through every time you have a few minutes to spare in your day.
January 9, 2023
It's a pure pleasure on each of 384 pages. The illustrations are stunning and some dresses are really iconic! I was delighted to see sketches of “Mondrian” dresses by Yves Saint Laurent. Images from Vogue and amazing advertisements by Burberry and Elisabeth Arden during the war years are fabulous! If you’re in fashion it’s your must read) 5/5
February 27, 2023
Купувала книгу на подарунок. Сама темою моди не цікавилася. Але перед тим як подарувати вирішила продивитися і була шокова тим, що вона мене захопила. Я розглядала цю історію, приходило розуміння на скільки одна сфера може кардинально впливати на іншу . Це фантастично.
Надіюся, що для людини, яка більше цікавиться модою, вінтаж, малюнками та мистецтвом, неодмінно оцінить цю книгу
Надіюся, що для людини, яка більше цікавиться модою, вінтаж, малюнками та мистецтвом, неодмінно оцінить цю книгу
May 31, 2025
I sit very comfortably at the center of a Venn diagram between art applicator and fashion appreciator. And this book sits comfortably in that zone as well.
If you want to look at gorgeous fashion illustration then this book is for you. If it was just pictures it would be enough. But the captions are a wealth of information about arts and fashion and the history of the illustrators.
Wonderful!
If you want to look at gorgeous fashion illustration then this book is for you. If it was just pictures it would be enough. But the captions are a wealth of information about arts and fashion and the history of the illustrators.
Wonderful!
December 22, 2019
An absolutely gorgeous pictorial history of fashion illustration!
January 2, 2020
Outstanding collection of fashion illustrations!!
July 25, 2020
Some great illustrators who I have never heard of. Lots of techniques to study.
October 23, 2021
I adore this book. I take it everywhere with me, and as a character designer/animator and aspiring fashion designer, I find this extremely useful and intuitive.
Want to read
December 14, 2021Saw this one Carrie Bradshaw's Bookcase in the second movie.
April 14, 2025
An absolute must for anyone interested in what - and why - we've been aspiring to wear for the past century or so. Gorgeous illustrations.
March 19, 2013
A quite heavy and thick book. It starts off with a short description of fashion illustration from the 15. century up until the 1920s, which works as an introduction. Then the illustrations, which are from the 20th and 21st century, begin.
Review of other fashion coffee table books and pictures of the books:
http://happycompletehome.blogspot.dk/...
Review of other fashion coffee table books and pictures of the books:
http://happycompletehome.blogspot.dk/...
March 2, 2014
This wonderful book is packed full of all kinds of fashion illustrations, as well as a helpful chronology narrated by Blackman, that any lover of fashion - be it history or practical application - is sure to enjoy. My only complaint is that there weren't enough illustrations; there were a tonne, but I give me more!
October 17, 2008
Amazing collection of fashion illustrations through the turn of the 20th century towards the 2000s. Love perusing the different visual styles and techniques that symbolised the zeitgeist of the time in which they were produced.
August 10, 2011
This is a wonderful book! It's very well written and researched spanning over a 100 years of celebrated fashion illustrators. Only wish it had a 1000 more pages full of illustrations to look at in wonder!
October 7, 2012
Let down. The cover looks better than all the images in the book combined. I suppose it is a well rounded collection of the past century of fashion illustrators, but I wanted to return this book soon after I received it.
Want to read
September 16, 2010The art lover in me is kind of obsessed with beautiful coffee table books. This is my note-to-self to check this one out.
October 13, 2010
A truly inspirational showcase of the best illustration in fashion industry.
August 8, 2014
Really good compendium of fashion illustrators, still, not that many that I liked aesthetically even if their works were really unique.
April 3, 2012
Gorgeous.
September 24, 2012
the best book for the famous illustrators ever
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews