Q&A: Illustrating London A/W 24 Womenswear With Otis Blease

Before fashion film, there was fashion photography, and before fashion photography, there was fashion illustration. Dazzling the pages of many of fashion's most revered publications, wondrous illustrations adorned the covers (and continued to decorate the inside pages) of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Flair, Tatler and many more throughout the first half of the 20th century, proving quite an asset to the quintessential style bible. Having always believed in the power of illustration, primarily when used to communicate a mood or palpable presence, SHOWstudio have long been inviting fashion's most talented illustrators, on and under the radar, to offer their unique talent in interpreting the latest season's collections.

We invited illustrator Otis Blease to add his illustrative flair to the best of London Fashion Week A/W 24. Ahead of him putting pen to paper to transform real life garments from the runway into true works of art, we interviewed Blease to know more about his artistic process, references and thoughts on fashion illustration.

SHOWstudio: Why do you illustrate?

Otis Blease: I don’t illustrate, so much as record what I see before me and in my imagination. There is a sweet spot where when I am creating, I am not thinking about anything except what I am making. But even this I am not thinking too much about. I am simply enjoying being creative, responding to the marks and colours in front of me.

I make images as a way of exploring my senses and connecting with the world I live in. I can’t resist the urge to scribble and scrape and smudge colours around on a surface.

SHOWstudio: What are you looking for in the collections this season?

OB: I am looking for bold and interesting shapes, flashes of colour and linear patterns.

I am interested in drawing clothes when they sit almost awkwardly on the body, standing out, yet seeming to suite the model simultaneously.

SHOWstudio: What makes a good fashion illustration?

OB: I like decisiveness and commitment in a drawing. This coupled with an original view on something, good colour palette and a range of mark making.

SHOWstudio: Why do you think/ what makes illustration important and relevant in 2024?

OB: I think documentation that shows the human hand is very important and will only continue to get more important. Moreover, clothes have been drawn for their whole existence, so I feel a strong parallel between fashion and illustration. They are both vessels in which to try and express ourselves through.