Fashion starts from a drawing. We at Woodstock City Lifestyle admire the art of fashion illustration. Fashion illustrator, artist and designer Stephanie Gentry utilizes sketching to visualize and communicate her stylish ideas. She shares with us her artistry, "pinch me" moments and passion for fashion.
As a 2012 graduate with a degree in fashion design from Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), she began doing production design to help emerging designers sketch their collections. Stephanie recollects how much she enjoyed specific experiences at SCAD, "I really loved when we did figure model classes and drew models in fashion classes. We had a model to capture and they would time us." Later, she then started to get requests to do live illustrations. "My first request was a live bridal sketch. I got the idea to do fashion and illustration-styled bridal portraits," says Stephanie.
Today, her most meritable skill is capturing the essence of whimsical fashion illustrations for various brands and events. "It takes 3-10 minutes to sketch at a live event. There is something about the energy that helps me. I gain a lot of inspiration and joy in that moment while sharing it with others," says Stephanie. Her eye for detail and ability to recreate the spirit and style of the moment is exquisite.
A very "pinch me" moment for Stephanie is when she did work for the luxury fashion house Christian Dior, all thanks to a referral by her dear friend and artist Jessica Durant. "Dior has always been my dream brand to work with since before college. Now, I get to take part in Dior runway shows."
Stephanie gleans inspiration from fashion history, weddings, luxury streetwear, nature, flowers, animals, architecture, people and beauty in unexpected places. What makes Stephanie's artistry unique is her ability to capture movement even when she is not in attendance at live events, "Sometimes I'll add movement to the garments that are not always there so that the clothes hang beautifully. I like to sketch walking poses and imagine how the outfits will move with certain gestures."
Amongst her many accomplishments is her work with TK Bridal in Sandy Springs, where she did custom couture designs for brides. In addition, Alice+Olivia is the first big brand she had the opportunity to work with, and she consistently works with them today. She is also grateful to work with Fab'rik and their 20th-anniversary celebration.
Though she has many accomplishments under her name, she is most proud of her book, Blooming Fashionistas. Stephanie explains, "I spent a long time developing artwork for the book and creating something people can relate to and learn from. I'm very proud of what I have created and the work it took to get to this point."
With utmost passion, Stephanie describes in detail the inspiration behind the book, "Birth flowers inspire the book; there is even a birth flower chart to find which floral represents your birth month to color. Blooming Fashionistas also includes mindfulness exercises for stress relief."
Drawings of looks handpicked from Stephanie Gentry's archive.
"My mission is to use art to bring people together to create positive change in the world. As an artist, I am making meaningful memories that last a lifetime, and spreading love one sketch at a time."
StephanieGentryArt.com