INSPIRATION: BLACK ALLURE

  

 (EPIC SHOT)

Currently obsessing over this gawwwwgeous spread called "Black Allure" from the February issue of Italian Vogue. It's beautiful and bewitching and it features some of my fave models such as Jourdan Dunn and Melodie Monrose.

Italian Vogue had previously done an all-black issue back in 2008 and now this time around, there's some skepticism over whether it's an attempt to show diversity in fashion or an interesting gimmick. I personally think it's most likely just a strategy to get attention but that doesn't matter to me. What matters is that this spread is awesome!!

I've just selected a few of my favourite photos from the spread but you can see all of them here.

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GRAND PLUMAGE

As much as I am amazed and inspired by fashion designers' collections every season, I try not to let that inspiration translate too literally in my personal illustrations. It's much more interesting for me to choose various elements that I like and find a way to incorporate them into my work. This illustration draws loose inspiration of the retro hair and makeup styling from the Louis Vuitton SS11 show and the colours and textures from the Alexander McQueen SS11 collection.

I have also decided to use this image on the home page of my new website. I've been working on it for quite a while but I was never really happy with how it looked so I hesitated in sharing it. Now that I've done a massive revamp, I'm really pleased with it and I finally feel comfortable enough to share it with everyone!

Please take a look and tell me what you think - Danielle Shepherd Fashion Illustration.

I've also set up a Danielle Shepherd Fashion Illustration page on Facebook to connect with anyone who is interested in my work. You can go here to 'like' this page or you can also connect through the widget in this blog's sidebar. Looking forward to connecting with all of you!  xx

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MUSIC INSPIRATION - "STRONGER" BY INDRANI

This song didn't inspire any piece in particular but I always feel good when I listen to it, and when I feel good, creativity flows. I'm from Barbados originally and I'm proud to say this song is by a Barbadian singer named Indrani. I'm not usually a fan of reggae music but this song is so soft, beautiful and atmospheric, I can't help listening to it over and over! Enjoy! xx

Btw, the Avatar AMV was done by a friend of mine, who also introduced me to the song (thanks Delvin, stealing your vid! :P)



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LA MUSE ANGELIQUE

Don't you just hate it when you're trying to remember the name of someone you've heard of before and you just keep drawing a blank? Well that's what happened to me last week when I was trying to remember the name of Renee Perle. For some reason I thought her name was something like Cecile or Celia (nooo I idea how I got that!) and all I could remember about her was that she wore T-shirts and stacks of bangles. The name search yielded no results (as it was so fantastically off the mark), so I decided to search for '1930s stacked bangles' and lo and behold, there was a photo of Renee Perle. Cue sigh of relief.


Renee Perle was the Romanian muse of Jacques Henri Lartigue, a prominent French photographer in the 20th century. I first found out about her when I came across a photo spread in Vogue Germany that was inspired by her sense of style. With her T-shirts, armfuls of bangles, wide legged trousers and large hats, she had a unique style which was very modern for its time. After finding out about Renee Perle again and going through numerous photos of her, I decided to create this piece which is inspired by her dark, mysterious features and beautiful clothing style.


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INSPIRATION: Vogue Turkey Editorial

source: fashion-spreads.com

Elise Crombez by Hans Feurer for Vogue Turkey October 2010

This is one of the most dynamic fashion editorials I've seen in a long time, I literally gasped when I saw it. The silhouettes, scenery and styling make for incredibly dramatic and inspirational imagery.

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RING MY BELL

I went to my hairdresser yesterday after putting it off for several weeks as it takes me an astonishing 2 and a half hours to get there. Seems like a long way to travel to get your hair done, but when I find someone who does my hair well, I go the distance.

Anyway, while I was there, I picked up this month's copy of Pride magazine and came across an article on Secret Diary of a Call Girl actress Ashley Madekwe. Accompanying the article was a very stylish photo of Ashley wearing a fabulous leopard print coat and as I read on, it also mentioned that she has a fashion blog. When I got home (after another wonderful 2 and a half hour journey back), I decided to check out Ashley's blog and she is one very chic chica!

In a post entitled "Sharp Edges", there was one photo in particular that stood out to me and shows her posing in a soft grey knit, leather pants, a hot pair of studded leopard print boots and her perfectly coiffed hair pulled to a side and hanging from one shoulder. It just needed to be illustrated. I had no choice really. So the end result is the illustration above.

Hope you like! xx

P.S You can check out Ashley's blog here.


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SWALLOWS & AMAZONS

photo courtesy haileyclauson.blogspot.com

The Swallows & Amazons illustration was based on the original photo above, of the stunning model newcomer, Hailey Clauson by photographer Terry Gates.


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INSPIRATION: La Repubblica Velvet Editorial

I went to Italy about a week ago and I picked up this La Repubblica Velvet magazine when I was leaving to come back to the UK. I had never heard of this magazine before and after flipping through it, I am officially a fan. I particularly love the fashion spread above - fantastic model, amazing hair/makeup/styling and beautiful photography. I love how it's so playful, sexy and mysterious at the same time. Bellissima!


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