This symposium takes place online across five nights, showcasing the work of participants in The Courtauld/London College of Fashion AHRC-funded Fashion Interpretations: Dress, Medium & Meaning networking project led by Rebecca Arnold and Judith Clark.
Each evening, we will present aspects of our individual and joint research into fashion and medium, exploring specific case studies from our perspectives as dress and film historians, artists, writers and illustrators, stylists and journalists.
We are an international, interdisciplinary network focused on the ways modern and contemporary fashion is continually reinterpreted through varied mediums, seeking to gain insight into the ways representational modes translate and reconfigure the meaning of fashion itself.
This symposium is the culmination of a year-long research initiative and also marks the launch of Archivist Addendum – a publishing project exploring the nascent space between standardised fashion editorial and academic research.
Part IV: Illustration Masterclass with Richard Haines, Thursday 3rd December, 7pm – 8pm
We are pleased to announce project member Richard Haines’ Fashion Illustration Masterclass, which will sit within our Fashion Interpretations Symposium week!
Richard Haines is an artist and fashion illustrator. To Richard Haines, New York City is an endless runway. When he moved to the city to pursue illustration, he instead found a successful career as a fashion designer, where he developed a keen eye for the often overlooked details of form, fabric, and how a garment falls on the body. After years in the design world, his career came full circle: he’s now one of today’s most sought-after fashion illustrators:
”During this drawing session I will discuss, in no particular order: the rich history of fashion illustration from Lepape to Bouchè and Bérard to…me! I will share my insights on the importance of gesture, shape, the play of positive and negative, and I’ll explain my golden rule of drawing—never use an eraser.
As we begin drawing we will talk about the process of approaching a blank sheet of paper— What do we see? What do we tell ourselves? Are we excited, apprehensive? So much of drawing is overcoming our fears, the voice in our head that says “I can’t draw,” “this is hard,” or “I’ll draw but I’ll avoid the hands, or the feet, or…” I’ll talk about ways to move those old conversations out of our head, which allows us to proceed to make beautiful drawings.
Perhaps no one captures the essence of a fleeting, assured stroke more than French artist and illustrator Christian Bérard. Bérard had the ability to capture the spirit of a room or a dress with a few quick lines without looking back. To arrive at this point in a drawing is fearless, brave, and beautiful. Here, we will talk about that energy and the power of a line!”
It is not uncommon to see Haines seated front-row at Fashion Week, sketching images for publications who’ve hired him to record the nuances that cannot be captured on film. His fascination with the people behind the styles informs every stroke, propelling his work into the intersection of fashion and art.
Please note: As this event is being held virtually, we encourage participants to use materials and tools of their own choosing – paper, pencils, pens, charcoal or a tablet device; however you wish to participate, we are excited to share this new, virtual masterclass experience with you!
You can learn more about the Fashion Interpretations research here:
https://sites.courtauld.ac.uk/fashioninterpretations/
https://www.arts.ac.uk/research/research-centres/centre-for-fashion-curation/fashion-interpretations
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FS012346%2F1
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@fashioninterpretations
