The History of 20th Century Fashion Illustration

Join Connie Gray, curator of Drawing on Style in a special talk that traces the evolution of fashion illustration from the early elegance of the 20th century through to the bold experimentation of the later 20th century. Learn how leading fashion illustrators responded to changing ideals in beauty, advances in printing and photography, and the shifting cultural landscapes. Spanning the ‘golden age’ of magazine illustration of the Art Nouveau and Art Deco periods, to the rise of ready-to-wear, and the expressive freedom of the 1960s and 70s, The History of 20th Century Fashion Illustration will reveal how each generation of fashion artists captured the mood of the time and how they defined and influenced the look and language of modern fashion.

Tickets £15 (includes entry to IKEA: Magical Patterns)

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About Connie Gray

With a background in fashion and broadcasting, Connie Gray is the leading authority on the history of twentieth-century fashion illustration. She is the author of GPP: One of a Kind - the definitive illustrated biography of Gladys Perint Palmer, the most influential female fashion artist of the modern era. As lead curator for Gray M.C.A, she has pioneered the presentation of fashion illustration as a fine art discipline, shaping major exhibitions internationally. A curator, educator, and lecturer, she advises on museum curation and collections research and is a guest lecturer at institutions including Central Saint Martins and the Courtauld Institute of Art. Her work interrogates the evolution of fashion illustration as a form of cultural documentation, examining its intersections with modernism, media, and the shifting role of the artist within the fashion industry. Recent collaborations with major institutions include Pioneers of Fashion (Lee Miller Archives), Crown to Couture (Kensington Palace, London), and 100 Years of Fashion Illustration (Society of Illustrators, New York).

Every ticket sold supports the work of The Dovecot Foundation to advance visual art, craft and design in all its forms.

Please note that tickets are non-refundable, non-transferable and may not be exchanged unless due to extenuating circumstances. 

If you are unable to attend an event please contact Dovecot on 0131 550 3660 or info@dovecotstudios.com to inform the Front of House Team.