When did you first get into drawing?

I’ve been drawing ever since I could hold a pencil, but I started my formal art education at art college in Brussels, majoring in graphic design and illustration. During that time I began exploring experimental drawing methods with life models, which I enjoyed a lot.

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

It was a gradual process starting with my Erasmus student exchange project in Reykjavik and observing the fashion students there. It was all new, mysterious, and intriguing to me, seeing them wearing their own amazing designs and being such a sophisticated, kind, and tight group. Upon my return my professors saw the direction where my drawings were developing and recommended to show my portfolio to fashion houses in Paris. I got an appointment at Maison Rochas, at the time of Olivier Theyskens, with a fashion illustrator and print designer from the design team—they loved my drawings and gave me lots of helpful advice, so I decided to dedicate myself fully into it. The more I learned about fashion and it’s rich relationship with art, the more I fell in love!

What is your particular working day as a creative?

As a fashion illustrator I am most recognised for my live backstage fashion show drawings. I get tremendous energy and inspiration working in the moment, interacting with the models and immersing myself in the surrounding scene. Working in this manner is fantastic as the shows are hectic and the models only have a limited time to pose if any. It’s a very spontaneous process with no time to overthink or overwork my drawings. When the moment is gone, the drawing is completed. Beyond fashion shows I’m asked to draw live at fashion boutiques, gala events, photoshoots, dance and theatre performances, and concerts across the globe. I love traveling and working in diverse locations, settings, and with different clients and teams. It’s very enriching and I learn something new each time. Sometimes clients come to have their portrait done at my studio and I recently started doing virtual appointments too, due to COVID-19. Whenever I am not

drawing people in person I work on various commissions, art projects, and planning my live drawing events. In this case I’m definitely a morning person and ideally begin my days by getting creative— drawing, painting, making, ideating—and then wrap up with reading, research, and other tasks toward the afternoon or evening. Although I’m fortunate to have great people around me that I can call in to help, I’m essentially a one man show. This means that much of my time also goes into networking, marketing, PR, social media, admin work, etc. Finding a nice balance between everything is sometimes a challenge, but I enjoy every aspect of my practice. 

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

Being a pervasive artist and illustrator I’ve always been very much inspired by the fine arts, especially experimental making methods of (Neo) Expressionism and matters dealing with perception and drawing as a performance. My early influences were artists such as Georg Baselitz, Per Kirkeby, Willem de Kooning, Georges Mathieu, and Christian Dotremont to name but a few. I also love the elegance and serenity of the impressionists and whenever I’m in Paris I enjoy going to Musée d’Orsay or Musée de l’Orangerie to see the master pieces! Currently I have been looking at Robert Mapplethorpe’s flower photos and in fact doing expressive large scale paintings as my reaction to them. My college didn’t have a fashion major so going for fashion illustration I truly needed to create my own learning path. I visited fashion schools, such as La Cambre in Brussels and the Fashion Academy in Antwerp, talking to students and professors, and absorbing all I could. I looked at legendary fashion illustrators such as Christian Bérard, René Gruau, René Bouché, Erté, Marcel Vertès, Cecil Beaton, and Tony Viramontes, but I was mostly interested in artists take on fashion such as in Expressionism, Fauvism, Orphism, Surrealism, Wiener Werkstätte, etc. I also studied the works of contemporary illustrators including Cecilia Carlstedt and Stina Persson —who have since become friends!—and Jean-Philippe Delhomme whose work partially inspired me to start using gouache. All these inspirations mixed with the current pop culture and what I see and experience in my daily life have led to developing my unique style and vision. 

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

Don’t be afraid to follow your own path and do create opportunities that might not even be there yet! When I was getting started, contemporary “live” fashion illustration wasn’t really a thing and I got many surprised looks appearing backstage with my paints, easel, and custom carry cases for my drippy drawings. Although a few illustrators at the time were of course still doing live sittings and drawing at fashion shows, based on my knowledge it wasn’t really promoted as such and was mostly for quick sketching and visual note taking. I wanted to bring on an artistic take and an energetic aesthetic, focusing on attitude and mood instead of how the models really looked like. I completed the works in the moment and proudly stated it. This approach opened many doors for me and I quickly proceeded drawing live at other high profile events and shows too.