Publication: Taschen's new tome is a treasure-chest of fashion illustration

Fashion illustration is something of an overlooked art when it comes to sartorially-led projects, but TASCHEN’s beautiful new tome Illustration Now! Fashion is a weighty (literally) testament to its importance both to the creative process and as its own art form.

The book is almost encyclopaedic in its detailing of the most important names to the genre, referencing houses as big as Maison Martin Margiela, Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton, and using huge full-page prints to hammer home the point; the makers might not shout about it, but a full book fit to bursting with fashion illustration is quite something to behold. Alongside the French masters are a host of names I’d never even heard of before I opened these pages, but the incredible variety of style and technique inside it has got me damn glad I did.

Steven Heller’s witty introduction details the stylistic and methodical demands placed on illustrators depicting fashions, while an in depth opening essay by fashion historian Adelheid Rasche provides an informative and fascinating introduction to its importance in a cultural sphere. See? Brains and beauty! One for the library you’re dreaming of owning.