THE HEIGHT OF FASHION

THE HEIGHT OF FASHION 

Fashion illustrations, photographs and paintings make stylish wall art. They can also prove to be a wise investment. Original sketches are fascinating, capturing the essence of both an artist and the image of women at a moment in time. You can find them in auctions, antiques fairs, in galleries and online. 

At The Design Gallery, we are currently selling an archive of work by a talented designer called Madeleine Hellstern – from our research to date, nothing is now known of her life. She worked in Paris in the 1950s and 1960s and was clearly successful, designing for a number of firms. Her elfin figures are dressed in elegant outfits, which are also lost to the mists of time.

Illustrations vary dramatically in price, depending on the attractiveness of the work and the name of the creator. Magazine illustrations and designs for fashion collections from the 1920s through to the 1960s now regularly fetch over £300 each at auction, unframed. Should you discover an original by a leading fashion designer or fashion artist from any period, snap it up! It could be worth thousands of pounds. Chanel and Schiaparelli used a range of artists in the earlier days of their houses, such as Christian Berard, for their myriad advertising and editorial stories. 

Rene Gruau – who was born Renato Zavagli Ricciardelli Delle Caminate in Rimini – began his stratospheric career at the age of 14 and became the artistic director of advertising at Christian Dior in 1947 – which heralded the launch of the “New Look”. He painted in a distinctive red, black and white palette that echoed Japanese Art Nouveau. Today his designs for Balenciaga, Schiaparelli, Rochas, Elizabeth Arden, Lanvin and Givenchy, as well as for leading fashion titles,  are reproduced as large scale, limited posters that can sell for over £1000. 

Pochoir prints are a collectable and usually affordable area of the market, especially those from the “look books” of the 1920s and 1930s. Tres Parisien, for example, produced loose leaf A5 books with a range of exquisite ensembles for the season. These beautifully detailed dresses and suits were stencilled onto tracing paper and then hand-coloured. Prices start at around £45 depending on the condition and rarity. . 

There are myriad options available for the fashionista to explore. Posters of famous faces such as Kate Moss and Gisele Bunchen start at under £10 on Ebay, yet specially-printed editions signed by the photographers can cost £1000s. If you have a passion for fashion, consider vintage magazines: 1930s Vogues may be £300, while a 1960s Vogue cover with Twiggy £60. 

You could also support contemporary artists who paint their own inspirations of the seminal periods of fashion. Mo Welch, for example, is both inspired by the Art Deco period and the 1970s-1980s. Or buy the work of fashion graduates – you may well find the next Zandra Rhoes or Stella McCartney…