And finally .... Fashion Photography !

My personal favourite area in which digital techniques are used has to be photography, Something that has always interested me was how all the supermodels in vogue would look so amazing and skinny, the answer is Airbrushing. After seeing a professional photographer use an airbrushing tool on his work, I think its one of the best techniques a computer can offer. I find it amazing how a average photograph can turn into an amazing work of art with a high resolution glossy finish. Airbrushing tools can be used for simple things like red eye and making the sky blue, right the way through to completely transforming the shape of a models body. I especially like the work of Vogue photographer Patrick Demarchelier who's use of light effects and contrast levels make his work look really sophisticated.

In my eyes, there is no Cons in Photography's use of airbrushing, however magazines such as Vogue have been regularly criticized for there use of airbrushing their models, as it creates a fake image to the public, which can cause young girls to aim to look a way that is unachievable and cause illness. I am regularly told about this when pouring over the glossy pages of vogue, however I've seen what Kate Moss looks like after a night out, and can realise what is fake and what is not !

Bridgets Back

This is my own fashion illustration, again inspired by my shoe theme. I took an image from Hello magazine of Victoria Beckham and drew a rough version I then also added a drawing of my favourite Louboutin shoe " Bridgets Back" (taken from the kylie video).
I have again cleaned the image up by correcting colour levels, with this image I needed the white to be bright as, i wanted the sketch of Victoria to stand out.

I have used the Clone stamp again to take the effect of gold mirror, for the platform and heel of the shoe, I also used a a simple fill tool to give the Louboutin it's crimson soul.
Again using the Clone stamp tool, I copied the pattern from the real shoe to fill in my drawing. I'am really happy with the overall look of the shoe as it looks quite realistic... but not as beautiful as the real thing.

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Finally, I added a background behind my sketch, I did this by making a transparent layer and cloning a picture of The Eiffel Tower into it. I chose the Eiffel Tower as its iconic to Paris, which is where Louboutin originated.


I'am really pleased with the final outcome on this piece as i think the layered effect works really well, my favourite part is the shoe as the cloning worked really well.
I'am also pleased that i managed to combine the drawing with photography, which is what interested me most when researching artists earlier in the brief. I think this is my one piece that really shows both Traditional and Contemporary art. As the sketch of Mrs Beckham is a simple drawing yet the shoe is mainly digitally produced.

Fashion Promotion - 4D

This is the newest advertising campaign from Ralph Lauren using 4-D graphics.
4-D is the step up from 3D it uses lighting, projection and computer aid and is visible to the naked eye unlike 3D.

I had come across 4D before, when Alexander McQueen projected a hologram of Kate Moss into his fashion show. However I have never seen it used on such a large scale as the Ralph Lauren campaign.


By displaying their promotions in this way Ralph Lauren have done something cutting edge and exciting, this not only impresses and re captures the attention of its regular clients, but will attract the younger ages to the fashion label. Therefore it works well as a great advertisement.

Fashion Videos

Many fashion designers have their catwalk shows filmed as high quality videos. These videos can then be accessed by fans via blogs and websites which makes them feel a little more involved.

Fashion Video may also involve television adverts, some of which use high quality effects which would all be edited digitally. For example the Chanel No.5’s advert on the Euro Star, when the silhouette of the perfume bottles flickers onto the wall or when the logo fades into the floor tiles, this would all be done with special effects.

The con to fashion videos, especially adverts such as this, is the cost as they are usually very highly produced and styled to a very high standard.

Hmmmmmm glossy fashion mags :)

Fashion magazines are probably one of the biggest users of digital techniques very little is done by hand. All written pieces are processed through type, page layouts are created on computers, all photography is enhanced and airbrushed and even the final machines that print the magazine are run via computer. This however does give the high gloss final effect of a fashion magazine such as Harpers or Vogue which people like me absolutely love !

I really can't think of a con against a beautifully presented fashion mag, unless if there was a electricity shortage, the company would be in major trouble !

A Blog about ... Blogs

Many designers communicate with their clientele and fan base through the use of Blogs/Facebooks/Twitters. By designers using these they make themselves more available to different audiences, as well as being able to update clients easier than having to send out promotions and newsletter by post or e-mail. Blogs are usually used as the more formal and detailed internet use, whereas the twitter and Facebook are briefer but reach many more people.

My example of this comes from Christian Louboutin which is linked to the website; it is updated monthly and has about 12,000 followers, whereas the Louboutin twitter page which is updated throughout the day with photos, video links and news stories has over 26,000 followers. However the most successful is the Facebook page which has 414,000 likes, I think this is because Facebook is such a popular social networking choice and the posts that the page does are always relevant and interesting.

However I do admit I think I still prefer the updates coming through the letterbox, as receiving a beautifully printed card or brochure from Louboutin, Vivienne Westwood or Jo Malone is just a little more exciting than scrolling down your screen.

Perfect Prints

Digital Technology is now also greatly used to create prints and patterns for garments.

For example this season animal prints have been huge !. These prints would be made by finding an initial image, say a photograph of leopard fur, and cleaned up in a programme such as Photo-shop and then tiled repeatedly to create a large piece of print, then using the manufacture techniques from before, added to garments and cut out into fabric.

The pro of using Computers for print design is that it saves time and also gives you alot more choice. You can use photography or a drawn image that is then edited or even make one from scratch. The example I found for this was Alexander Mcqueen's Atlantis collection Jellyfish dresses, which was photography of different areas of a jellyfish, zoomed in to create great detail.



I loved the collection that much I bought the dress ... THE PRINT IS GORGEOUS ! It's detailed and the colours are amazing.

The only downside to using computer for print design is that it is becoming harder to find beautifully hand drawn/painted designs such as those of William Morris, who's prints I thought were so delicate and beautiful.