J'Adore.. Dior

Ever since dropping into the Design Museum to see their recent 'Drawing Fashion' exhibition I have grown quite fascinated with Rene Gruau, the 1940s/50s illustrator for Christian Dior (on returning home I actually had a go at doing a fashion-ey drawing, with daft results).

Gruau has been described as a 'shy Frenchman' who brought back the art of fashion illustration; he was published internationally by the tender age of 18, working for several magazines in the 1930s before collaborating with Dior in 1947 and spawning the so-called "New Look"; it is probably this for which he is most recognized now.

Their partnership was mutually beneficial: Dior's designs are conveyed magnificently with colour and silhouette. Equally the ubiquitous brand of Dior acted as a vehicle for Gruau's art, in a time when Photography was steadily replacing illustration on magazine covers. Gruau, in turn, was inspired by earlier French painters, such as Toulouse-Lautrec and that nostalgic poster-art aesthetic.

His illustration was used consistently in the world of advertising - with Gruau famously designing the poster for Fellini's La Dolce Vita (in 1959) as well as numerous campaigns for the 'haute-couture' fashion houses - Lanvin, Givenchy, Balenciaga etc.

Quite rightly, his fan base continues to this day, with a profusion of exhibitions having recently paid tribute (I'm guessing in some conjunction with London Fashion Week).

I couldn't get hold of what I found to be the most inspiring images from the exhibition but anyway, here are a select few crowd pleasers....

'Drawing Fashion' is on at the Design Museum until the 06 March.