Jacqueline Bissett’s 30-year-plus fashion illustration career began during an exciting and defining period for British fashion. She received her first commission while still an art school student and soon after, she was contributing to publications including Elle and Cosmopolitan during the late ’80s and ’90s, working out of a studio adjacent to Vivienne Westwood’s in London’s famed Camden Town.
Bissett’s dynamic renderings of fashion combine fluid lines and spontaneous brushstrokes. She has lent her illustrative talents to Vogue Japan, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, and Chanel among others and as of late to designs for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour.
Here, she talks about sustaining a creative career, looks back on being a young illustrator living and working in London and shares advice on navigating freelancing as a creative.
Jacqueline, what were the early encounters with illustration that captivated you?
I think it was illustrated figures in story books that first caught my attention when I was about 7 years old. Like a lot of young girls in the Seventies I was obsessed with stories of princesses and characters like Cinderella from the littleLadybird books - they were so beautifully illustrated and I remember sitting on the floor of my family home copying the sketches and then changing the costumes and colour- I had no idea that I was designing and Bromsgrove wasn’t really the kind of place where those opportunities arose. Luckily I had a very supportive mum who told me the ‘World was my Oyster’ and I could do anything that I put my mind to. We found out that there was a fashion course through a chance meeting of the Vice Principal at Bournville school of art on a train journey to London. Mum used to take me a few times a year from the Midlands and I was enamoured by the bright lights and big city.
How did you learn and hone your craft as a fashion illustrator?
I studied fashion design at Bournville where I learned to pattern cut, design and make clothes, none of which I had much flair for but I excelled when sketching the clothes - I loved it but had no idea that you could actually be a fashion illustrator for a job. I didn’t have much ambition to move away at that time but my tutors saw my talent and urged me to apply to Epsom College of Art. It was there that I was introduced to Lynne Robinson and several other fashion illustrators Colin Barnes and Shari Peacock. I realised that people actually worked freelance as fashion illustrators and I remember thinking, ‘If I can just make enough money to get by drawing fashion, I would be happy’. the opportunity arose with Lynne as I’d worked so hard during my 2 years at Epsom, I left with a distinction and started freelancing straight away. It was at the height of fashion illustration - Lynne and I worked for a lot of fashion forecasting companies, we would draw hundreds of figure drawings for these books that would predict fashion.
Can you talk about working as an illustrator in London during the late ’80s and ’90s?
It was fashion illustration’s heyday - so much illustration was used during this time. I had my first commission whilst still at Epsom College of Art (now UCA) after being encouraged by a tutor to take my portfolio around early to avoid the influx of leavers touting for work! I made a beeline for the art directors at publishing houses, ad agencies and design companies. The aforementioned tutor Lynne Robinson invited me to set up a new studio with her in Greenland Street, Camden Town next to Vivienne Westwood’s, it was a great area to work - very inspiring. I also got into raving at that time so used to ‘burn the candle at both ends’, occasionally going into the studio after partying all night at some warehouse party or illegal rave off the M25!
I loved working there with Lynne, eventually she moved to France where we continued to work together. When I had work in Paris I would get the train to start work in her Honfleur studio for a month. She doesn’t illustrate now but is still working there creatively - you can see her stylish signage all over the town which is such a beautiful place.
I lived down the road on Mornington Crescent and used to cycle through Regent’s Park to collect a commission (often beauty/fashion products) from Elle/Company/Cosmopolitan magazine - often 5 pages of illustrations at a time! I would rough out the pencil sketches and fax over to the art director for approval before completing the final illustrations. The work was collected the next day or so by motorcycle courier.
“Fashion continues to inspire me. I’ve recently been working with Ashish sketching his designs for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour”
What are some recent runway shows you were inspired by and enjoyed illustrating?
The last one that I was surprised to be inspired by was Victoria Beckham’s - I loved her more playful approach to her usual, more classic collections. The fall 2024 collection was more classic with a twist with clever cuts and beautiful fabrics - definitely more dramatic than previous seasons. The most striking however was Galliano’s S/S24 Artisanal collection for Maison Margiela, like many other fashion illustrators, I was so inspired to paint the looks from this strong collection which was opened by Gwendoline Christie and featured corsetry, knitwear, sheer fabrics, styled with oversized wigs, merkins and models with crooked poses and glycerin painted faces - the inspiration coming from Brassai’s nightlife portraits of 1920’s Paris.
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You illustrated the companion book for the TV series Emily in Paris, can you talk about working on the project?
This was done through my agent Illustration X who I was with for 15 years - they got me so much work but I decided to leave last year as I felt a ‘bit stuck’ creatively. Coincidentally the graphic designer for the Emily in Paris book was a lady I met years earlier from Elle magazine - we did a regular page together for about 3 years. It was a dream job - sketching Emily (though for copyright reasons I was not allowed to transcribe Emily exactly as she is in the series) it was a fun commission and I loved the creative process of sketching lots of ideas to get the overall style for the illustrations throughout the book. Paris is my favourite city to work in, always inspiring - I work at events there 5-6 times a year and still get a buzz from seeing/working next to the Eiffel Tower.
You have to move with the times and as with the ever changing nature of fashion - fashion illustration as a business shifts constantly too - you have to adapt and it’s something that I’ve always embraced to avoid my working becoming ‘staid’. I still get really excited by seeing new collections and trying to interpret them whenever I have time. I’d love to have more time to work on a bigger scale but I’m just so busy at the moment - I’m confident that I’ll have more time to experiment soon.
What is your creative process?
It has changed quite a lot with the nature of the business and most other creative businesses over the past few decades. I used to sketch everything in pencil which I still love to do but these days as I’m doing more live event work for large brands, corporate parties and weddings, it’s more spontaneous - painting from life. I work on the continuous line concept mostly to capture people sitting in front of me. When I get commissions though I still sketch ideas in 2B Staedtler clutch pencil first - I love working on Brand identity illustrations. One of my favourite jobs was for Thomas Sabo - a 6 year job illustrating(their jewellery catalogues and yearly diaries that were given to customers) a character named Lucy who was a Parisienne young woman with tumbling loose curls and a strong eye for fashion. I literally drew her in black ink in hundreds of different scenarios to promote the Charm Club range - with themes like travel, pets and fashion - a dream job which I’d love to revisit!
How would you describe your illustration style?
Fluidity and sparsity of line is my approach, often using continuous line and varying the thickness, or in one brushstroke, often black line with minimal colour which I apply before the line work to give more depth than ‘filled in’ colour. I would describe my illustration style as fairly traditional with a twist of modern. I do like to vary my style to suit each client’s brief. I find that younger client’s prefer my digital work whereas luxury brands prefer my hand painted style.
In what ways has your craft evolved over the years?
As I said previously, it’s become more spontaneous. Lockdown helped with that as I discovered Zoom life drawing sessions which were set up by dancers, reformers and models who could not work. I finally got the chance to work from live models, albeit through a screen. It helped me to speed up and eventually when events restarted it really helped my live event illustration which has now virtually taken over from my fashion illustration work. I do miss the commissions but at the moment I’m riding the wave as there’s a lot of work around and I get to travel all over the world which I love!
Who are some of the women in fashion and illustration who have inspired you over the course of your career?
My mum is my biggest inspiration, she’s always told me to ‘go for it’ & been my biggest supporter. She’s a big optimist, who even at the age of 82 likes to dress up and look nice which she always does! Lynne Robinson inspired me as a fashion student, I just wanted to be like her, her paintings were so effortless and stylish - like her. Vivienne Westwood as a designer inspired me the most - what an amazing designer and character - I love unique people who just are themselves and don’t conform to fashion trends. Fashion illustrators I love are Gladys Perrint Palmer for her quirky runway characters and the work of Jacky Blue (wonderful collages and fabulous loose line work) and Julie Verhoven - especially the work she used to do for John Galliano. She doesn’t do so much fashion work these days but she’s an incredible artist, creative director and tutor.
“When I get commissions though I still sketch ideas in 2B Staedtler clutch pencil first - I love working on Brand identity illustrations.”
What aspects of your craft do you most enjoy/love?
Experimenting with different materials and papers is my joy. There are still so many things I’d like to explore like oil pastels and paint and getting back into collaging with different papers, textures and prints.
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Fashion continues to inspire me. I’ve recently been working with Ashish sketching his designs for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour which will be part of an exhibition (possibly, it’s all a bit hush hush atm!) I also worked with Nicholas Oakwell on his couture Collection and uniform designs for 6 star hotels around the world.
Are there aspects of your work that were challenging early on that have become less challenging with time/experience?
I think a lot of it is confidence that working for so many years cannot fail to bring. I’m a bit of a show off when I’m working which is why the live event illustration suits me so well - it’s a performance, very often with an audience behind me. I couldn’t have done that when I was younger as my skills wouldn’t have been so developed.
What insights can you share on working/navigating being a freelance fashion illustrator? What are the key things that have proved valuable?
Be passionate about your work - I don’t think that you’ll succeed otherwise. Try different styles/materials, be experimental. Although you should try to keep proportions and faces consistent - then your style will strengthen. Keep your ‘fingers in many pies’ then when one area of work goes quiet, hopefully you’ll still get work elsewhere. I have worked in editorial - books, magazines. Websites to promote everything from recruitment companies to jewellery. Swing tickets in store and signage (point of sale) illustration. I do a lot of lifestyle work as well as straight fashion illustration. Live events as I mentioned are big at present and I’ve worked in boutiques for Louis Vuitton, Armani, Ralph Lauren amongst others.
Can you talk about illustrating live events in contrast to working in your studio?
It’s hard work sketching live from 3-4 hours to 8 hours at weddings or all day in stores( sometimes a few days booked together) You are on show so sometimes feel like you’ve got a fixed grim - I try to look cheerful while I’m working and you always have to be polite to customers/guests - I like that I have to dress up and make an effort but it’s so nice when I can take it all off and wear sloppy clothes in my studio - put on the radio and just relax at my drawing board.
Find us on Instagram @ParticipanteJournal. Find @JacquelineBissett.
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