Event

Join us February 10, 6-8pm at Michele Varian SoHo for the opening of an exhibition of work by eight of MV's favorite illustrators. One of Michele's first loves is drawing (at one time she even considered becoming an illustrator!), so she's incredibly excited to fête these select artists, all of who have distinctive styles and blur the lines of conventional fashion illustration.

 
Featuring work by

Erin Robinson, Brooklyndolly

Erin Robinson is a fashion designer by trade whose career has spanned over twenty-five years in the corporate design business. The majority of those years were spent designing children’s apparel for brands such as Gap, OshKosh, Sears and The Children’s Place.

Erin works in a variety of mediums that include watercolor, acrylic, ink, charcoal, collage as well as digital artistry.

Her global travels reignited her creative energy, allowing her to move in another artistic direction.

She was inspired by the many beautiful and diverse women in Brooklyn whose decorative hair looked more like art. She interpreted what she saw along with her magical childhood imagination to give life to Brooklyndolly.

Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Village Voice, Boston Globe,Essence magazine and the Washington Post where she illustrated a family piece for the Obama legacy series. Most recently her work can be found in the newly released book, published by Harper Collins, “Shaking Things Up”, by Susan Hood.

She is currently illustrating a few children's book projects for release in 2019 and divides her time between Washington, D.C. and New York.

Shop Brooklyn Dolly.

______________________

Spiros Halaris

Spiros Halaris is a multi-disciplinary Illustrator and Art Director. Originally from Greece, he was trained at the prestigious University of the Arts London and has studios in London and New York, where he's currently based.

He has received numerous accolades including the coveted Entrepreneur Award from the University of the Arts London in 2012.

Halaris has built up an international and diverse clientele including Lancome, Bergdorf Goodman, Sephora, Printemps, Harrods, Bloomingdale's, Vogue, Architectural Digest and Salvatore Ferragamo to name a few. His signature style balances colour with black and white, blending both into a sophisticated yet sensitive style.

His visual language and image-making continue to innovate, surprise and evolve with each new brief. New ideas and fresh inspiration result in each client having a tailor-made solution.

Shop Spiros Halaris.

______________________

Anja Kroencke

Anja Kroenke was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1968. She studied fashion design and illustration at the College for Textile Design in Vienna, graduating in 1987.

From 1988 to 1994, Anja worked as an art director at GGK, a large advertising agency in Austria. She came to New York on holiday and fell in love with the city. So she moved to New York in 1994 and started working as a design director for Stein Rogan and Partners.

Anja worked evenings and spare-time preparing a portfolio of her drawings, and giving them to prospective clients. Her work was very much appreciated, so in 1997, she started to work full-time as an illustrator.

Shop Anja Kroencke.

______________________

Don Oehl

Don Oehl’s fascination with fine art began early in life. He grew up in Chicago, and studied dance at the Chicago Academy for the Performing Arts. Drawn to visual art, he went on to study drawing and painting in Paris.

After studying Fashion Illustration at NYC’s FIT, Don worked with design companies on point of sale and window displays for clients like Aveda and Bergdorf Goodman. Subsequently, he moved to publishing, working as a Design Director at Condé Nast. However, he soon discovered that fashion illustration was his primary language and ultimate way of self-expression.

Don developed his illustrations through fashion, movement, shapes, and color-all with a wink. His illustrations are an homage to classical fashion illustration and incredibly on-trend. Don effortlessly blends digital process with classical illustration. He gains inspiration from his surroundings as well as from artists like Rene Gruau, Patrick Nagel, Kenneth Paul Block, Dondi White and John Luke Eastman.

Shop Don Oehl.

______________________

Michael Ward

Designer, illustrator, and native New Yorker Michael Ward made a promise to himself to draw every day. This promise has kept him grounded and has brought him much joy. After sharing his sketches and passion, his art has taken on a life of its own.

Ward is a Parsons graduate with a BFA in Fashion Design. He has worked for a number of iconic fashion houses including: Burberry, Anne Klein, Rachel Zoe, and most recently Diane Von Furstenberg.

We are also pleased to announce that Michael has just launched a luxury unisex brand, The Salting.

Shop Michael Ward.

______________________

Edward Wilkerson

Shop Edward Wilkerson.

______________________ 

Jenny Williams, What My Daughter Wore

What My Daughter Wore is Brooklyn artist Jenny Williams' original collection of intimate and playful drawings capturing the inspired, offbeat, and whimsical sartorial choices of girls in the fleeting years between childhood and young adulthood. With her daughter Clementine as her original muse—but also inspired by her daughter's friends—Jenny depicts a unique moment in a girl's life, when self-expression and individuality trump trends and the impulse to conform.

From a dress borrowed from mom worn over vintage pants handed down by a big brother, to a Dr. Who T-shirt paired with a flouncy knee-length skirt, the girls ofWhat My Daughter Wore are dressing only for themselves and discovering the power and joy of their own tastes and style. What My Daughter Wore is a celebration and snapshot of the uniqueness and creativity of the girls, the tween years, and of course the clothes.

The What My Daughter Wore project began in Williams' Williamsburg loft, where her live/work artist's studio had gradually morphed into a setting familiar to every parent—a home overrun by her three kids and their many friends. Faced with diminishing space to paint, she turned to drawing, taking advantage of the ready inspiration the kids provided. The resulting drawings combine the straightforward documentary quality of a street-style blog with the immediacy and emotion of the portraits that fill Jenny's hundreds of private sketchbooks.

______________________ 

Christina Zimpel

Originally from Perth Western Australia, Christina Zimpel started out in the art department of Vogue Australia working her way up to Art Director. After a stint in New York at American Vogue and Mademoiselle she dropped out and moved to Paris with her young family.

Drawing on all her life experiences Christina is now an artist living in Brooklyn, New York and has exhibited her distinctive work in Sydney, San Francisco and Paris. She has been published in British Vogue, Australian Vogue, the Sydney Morning Herald, Papier Magazine, Pan and the Dream, and commissioned work by designers Carven and Maison Kitsune.

Shop Christina Zimpel.

______________________ 

Press