When did you first get into drawing?
I started drawing when I was very young, it was my favourite activity since kindergarten. I continued to draw as a parallel passion throughout my school years, never thinking that I could make a profession out of it. I come from a small town, where to study in a scientific school at that time seemed the best and only choice. Only when I had to choose university, I discovered the possibility to study Fashion Design in Milan and the chance to apply my strong passion for drawing to a possible job opportunity, as a fashion designer in my case. 

Why did you choose to make fashion part of your inspiration?

I discovered to have a strong interest in fashion when I was a teenager. Fashion for me was a way to escape into a different reality, a way for imagining different worlds, different beauty standards, a way to tell stories, experiment and be inspired. Since then fashion is for me very important for better understanding customs, traditions and habits, and how these changed over the years. 

What is your particular working day as a creative? 

I'm a professor in a fashion design Italian university, so when I am not teaching, I do a lot of research to keep myself updated. This research is also addressed to illustration, both traditional and new trends. Every day I archive and organise images, in order to find new ideas and inspiration for my works. And even if now I'm the fashion system for years (4 as a student plus 15 as a professional) I keep learning and practicing every day or anytime possible. I think it is very important to keep learning, improving and experimenting. I always listen to the music while I'm drawing, it's almost impossible for me to draw in silence, music helps me to focus and work faster.

What tools do you use when creating your images? 

I have always used traditional media as markers and pencils. But especially in the last 5/6 years, consultancy jobs' requests as an illustrator were increasingly demanding works in digital. So now I mostly use digital tools (ipad+Procreate). Even when I use digital tools anyway, I prefer to give to my works a "handmade" feeling. 

Who and what has influenced you over the years as an artist?

I think first of all I had a strong influence from those who were my favourite artists when I was learning to draw, so Alphonse Mucha and Art Nouveau (in particular clean outlines and flat colours in his posters), Pre-Raphaelites and Symbolists (preparatory drawings and the study of the human figure). When I started to study fashion, I bought a book about the history of fashion illustration and fell in love with Antonio Lopez and David Downton especially. Peter Turner is also one of my favourite contemporary artists. In general I admire the ability to reach a sort of synthesis in the drawing and the strokes, the talent in expressing a volume, a movement, a figure or an expression, just using few lines and elements.

What advice do you have for younger artists looking to be part of this industry? 

I still believe drawing is a practice that you can achieve not just with passion, but with a lot of practice and patience. In order to achieve both a good technique, as a personal and expressive style, it takes a lot of hard work. Nowadays compared to the past, social platforms are a good way to share our work or progress and get visibility. An initiative as Fida itself is a great example about these new ways of getting in touch with the system. On the other side I also think that a school career path can give you a wider knowledge and range of abilities, as it helps you to get in touch with the industry and develop a network of useful contacts. But especially, as a person working in a creative field and a tutor, I think critical feedback is something necessary to boost our growth and flourish. 

What are you drawing today? Music are you listening to? Books that your are reading? Favourite artist/designer at the moment?

Today I'm drawing a woman's head without colour, I'm experimenting a bit more the pencil strokes with the digital tools.

I'm listening to M.I.A.  AIM album from 2016.

I'm reading Gods and Kings: The Rise and Fall of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano a 2015 book by Dana Thomas.

Favourite artist at the moment Tina Berning. (Fida Judge 2021).

Giulia Bedoni:

Lecturer and Project Developer (at Istituto Marangoni Milano). www.istitutomarangoni.com

I teach subjects such as Collection Development and Coordination, Research and Design, History and Criticism of Contemporary Fashion. 

Consultant Fashion Designer and Illustrator.