Five Fashion Illustrators we’re loving Right Now

Fashion illustrations have a really cool and long history, especially if we consider them from an intangible cultural heritage asset point of view. Before photographic and digital imagery took over the fashion industry, fashion illustrations were your go-to. The feeling of textures, colours, and the glamour evoked by handwork was irreplaceable then and now and today we celebrate just that.

Quite honestly, there is a lot of talent worth at least a mention but here is our roundup, a diverse mix of our favourite Indian artists, who are celebrating fashion through their art.

A seasoned face in the Indian fashion illustration scene, Jasjyot is a National Institute of Design alumnus with a Masters in Illustration from the Maryland Institute College of Art. From his work that celebrates the larger-than-life Indian women to his portfolio that includes big industry names such as Sabyasachi, Aneeth Arora, Manish Malhotra, Suket Dhir, and more, Jasjyot is one of many helming ways to promote art and artists, specifically in fashion.

Manasi aka Aayana Vinaya who calls herself the ‘Crayon Cruncher’ is a visual artist with a wide mix of genres up her alley. But it was her personal project #100DaysOfClothesILove where she merged her love for fashion and textiles. Another National Institute of Design alumnus, and trained at an atelier in Barcelona in painting and sculpture, her illustrations are diverse, show inclusive stories, and display India’s diverse, rich and indigenous textiles.

Social media is this generation’s call, especially if we talk about putting out art and artists. For Shweta, social media was exactly what made her a notable name in the fashion and lifestyle industry. A graphic artist based out of Bombay, she started out as an art director at an advertising agency before switching to graphic design. Today, an independent artist and a member of the prestigious ‘Alliance Graphique Internationale’, her work is a blend of art, fashion, and design, and her design aesthetic is minimal, graphic, and bold.

High fashion memes are Srishiti’s love language and one cannot deny they’re rather too relatable. A visual artist, illustrator, and fashion designer based out of Bangalore, her education at NIFT and her stint as a graphic designer, organically led her to develop her own style of illustrations with fashion as her central theme. From creating maximalist high fashion creatives to collaborating with brands such as Michael Kors, Levi’s, Mac Cosmetics, etc., she’s an artist whose work is the #VISUALEXPLOSION.

India-born, Indianapolis-based Waldia is another NIFT alumnus who likewise graduated from Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design with a degree in communication design. Unlike many, her art is diverse with varied styles for each different project, however, it’s her depiction of dapper brown women and essentially brown narratives that remain central. Her love for fashion, textiles, and art can also be seen through her side project called ‘Each Stitch is a Kiss’.

Stay tuned at @NykaaFashion on Instagram for more!