Mélique Street, is a fashion illustrator and designer based in Milan, Italy. We are happy to share her recent fashion illustrations drawn on Fashionary sketchbook (John Galliano’s Dior 2011 haute couture collection) and on Fashionary Panel (Maison Martin Margiela SS2015 Haute Couture Collection). Read on for the inside scoop on Mélique Street:

 

Fashionaryhand: What is your favorite medium and why? 

 

Mélique Street: I love to use Copic markers because of their high quality and huge number of different shades. I also always use tempera, indian ink: it makes the lines more vivid and diversified; colour pencils and Copic blender for the transparency effect.

 

F: What motivates, inspires and influences you?

 

M: I always feel a certain craving for creative work. I’m a fashion designer and I can be inspired by anything: architecture, cars, famous people from the past, other fashion designers etc. When I’m drawing or designing something, I love to have a fashion show or some good music on the background, it helps me to emerge in a creative atmosphere and inspires me to invent something new.

 

F: How long does it take to complete a drawing?

 

M: Depends on what type of illustration I’m drawing: it goes from a quick 1 hour live sketch to something more complicated, with a lot of details - it can take the whole day or sometimes even more. It’s always good to look on your illustration with a fresh eye on the next day and to correct your own errors.

 

F: I see! How about the sketches of Maison Martin Margiela SS2015 Collection that you have drawn on Fashionary Panel?

 

M: I was so inspired right after I’ve seen the Margiela show that I did it in a very short time, about 1.5 hours.

 

F: Wow That’s fast! Which is your favourite Fashionary Product? 

 

M: I love the Fashionary sketchbook: the quality of the paper suits perfectly to my illustrations. Before, I used to draw on single sheets of papers but now I think albums are better because I can take it anywhere with me, and what is very important, the Fashionary sketchbook is very aesthetically beautiful, it’s a pleasure to show it to my friends.

 

F: What advice do you have for aspiring fashion illustrators?

 

M: I’d say: search for your own style and don’t be afraid to experiment. But what is the most important is to get a minimum fine arts academic background: it will help you to move in any direction and to realize any idea you have in your head.