Veronica Colanero is a self-taught fashion illustrator from the Italian region Abruzzo. Veronica showed her interest in art from a young age. She pursued her dreams by studying at Art High School where her main focus was on fashion design. 

 

“I was passionate about fashion design. Before I have started at university, I had my first internship with Fabi, a luxury company which specialized in shoes. I had the chance to see a real fashion work environment with all the possible crises you can have during the fashion week and meet people from around the world”. Veronica was only eighteen-years-old and at the time it seemed like a huge starting point for her career.  

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After internship the fashion illustrator moved to Viterbo, a city near Rome, to study fashion design at the Academy of Fine Art "Lorenzo Da Viterbo". During her time in Italy Veronica was curious about international experience so she moved to London soon after graduation. “I have moved to London for an opportunity to work as a fashion designer. I have worked for Louis Vuitton and also restarted painting during this period. After years of designing and other jobs related to fashion, I took a brush in my hands and felt so happy”.  

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It was a period where Veronica’s personal life took her to Paris and she began her new life as a fashion illustrator. “It has been a year and a half since I moved. It has been the push for me to decide that I wanted to do something unique, something I have always dreamed of but I was probably too scared to start. Living of painting has never been easy, but I told myself ‘now or never’”. 

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Fashion Illustration could be seen as the starting point for every fashion designer. It allows visualising ideas before creating new garments. Veronica describes fashion illustrations as “that place where you need to look at the beauty and perfection of a product, understand what the designer wanted to communicate at first and reinterpreted with your own view and voice”.  

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Fashion illustration has experienced changes in trends throughout the years. Even if we take a colour palette there is a difference in trends now and what was popular in the 90s. “There are some prevalent trends as the drop-ink illustrations, which give this feeling of freedom, or the kind of realism illustrations where all the details are amazingly done by hand or with the help of Computer-aided design software”. It is a really reach moment in terms of trends for fashion illustration. However, Veronica admits that she doesn’t always follow trends even though there is an indirect influence on everyone.  

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Not only trends but other changes are happening within the illustration industry. In the digital age, photography took over fashion illustrations. Vogue used to include fashion illustrations in their covers but development in printing allowed to change the covers and fashion illustrations had to move to the inside pages.  

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Veronica believes that “the main problem is that fashion illustration is not really consumed for the initial use. It’s struggling to define the area where it is required”. However, it is still an important part of the design process which allows communicating the ideas on paper before turning them into the garments. 

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Veronica finds inspiration in books, art exhibitions, movies or new fashion collections. The illustrator sees influence in everything around her. “I consider inspiration as a pure feeling which is hard to describe. It is the kind of feeling when you are a child and you can finally open all the birthday presents”.  

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“I am also inspired by small details. I feel emotional about the process but sometimes what excites me today won’t bring the same feeling to me tomorrow”, she adds.   

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At the moment Veronica is focusing on her project as she wants to open an online shop to sell prints of her artwork. The fashion illustrator also considers collaborations with other designers and some of her dream brands. 

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There are several designers which can be seen in Veronica’s work. “I can say that some of my favourite designers are Christian Dior, Gucci and Prada. They are incredibly modern and at the same time able to keep the heritage clear and interpret the concept of beauty”.

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While creating fashion illustrations, mixed materials and techniques could be used. All Veronica’s illustrations include watercolour and black ink which is a kind of signature in her work. As well as every design, illustration takes time to create. Veronica has her own routine while she works on her new painting.  “I need a routine! I am the kind of creative but boring person. I always start with research about the subject and then the contest I want to build for it. I mainly start by drawing the shadows and choosing where I want to direct the light”.  

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For anyone who wants to start with fashion illustration, the best advice Veronica can give is: “believe in yourself and dedicate any free time to practice, there is no better school than experience”.  

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