Play dress up with Canadian fashion paper dolls
During (and after) October’s Spring 2010 LG Fashion Week, readers of fashion illustrator Danielle Meder’s blog, Final Fashion, were treated to paper doll renderings of Pink Tartan, Philip Sparks, Vawk and 12 other Canadian collections. In each set selection of looks sat tabbed and ready to be cut out and put onto paper dolls styled in the show’s hair and makeup–and all the appropriate underpinnings. Now Meder, a Ryerson fashion grad whose illustrations have appeared in NOW Magazine, the Globe & Mail and the National Post, has compiled her series into a book (US$43, blurb.com). (If you want to cut out the clothes and play dress up, Meder will send you a PDF for $18.) We had a quick email chat with Meder to find out what inspired the paper dolls, her favourite illustrators and why she focuses on the local. (Read the interview and see a sampling of the fashion dolls, after the jump)
What inspired you to make the paper dolls?
Each season when fashion week comes around in Toronto I try to come up with an original way to do coverage for my blog, Final Fashion. Everyone else is much better at posting photos and reviews and street style, so I try to create something different. This season, I went back to my roots in a way. I began my life as a fashion illustrator as a small child making paper dolls, so I thought it would be cool to do paper dolls again.
You’ve done a lot of sketching from live runway shows. What do you like about it?
It is terrific practice to sketch quickly, and attempt to capture the attitude and outfit and model with just a few economical gestures. In a season I will do hundreds of quick sketches. Most look like nothing, but a few come out surprisingly useful, either on their own or as the basis for a more finished illustration.
What were your favourite shows at LG Fashion Week Spring 2010?
Evan Biddell for transforming the runway with a total vision both in showmanship and a more confident aesthetic; and Sears Attitude for transforming a staid brand into something very desirable – not an easy task.
Who are your favourite fashion illustrators?
David Downton, Gladys Perint Palmer and Antonio Lopez (among many others).
You’re very supportive on Canadian fashion on your blog. Why is that so important for you?
I’m an entrepreneur in Canada myself so I feel a certain solidarity with my fashion colleagues in this country. There are a lot of blogs out there covering the international scene so focusing on the local and the new helps my site stand out. And I think that by bringing an engaging point of view to fashion, regardless of the country, helps all of us raise the bar when it comes to the quality of our work, whether we are in media or design.
Click the images below for a sampling of the paper dolls and see the full set on finalfashion.ca.
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