100 YEARS OF FASHION ILLUSTRATION

by Cally Blackman

published by Laurence King Publishing London

The book is a comprehensive survey of the genre over the last century. It offers an overview of the development of fashion, as seen through
the eyes of the greatest illustrators of the day.

ANTONIO ... CECIL BEATON ... FRANCOIS BERTHOUD ... MANOLO BLAHNIK ... TANYA LING ... RENE GRUAU ... ZOLTAN ...






exhibition and private sale at WILLIAM LING FINE ART GALLERY London

April 13 - April 26 2007

Cally Blackman of Saint Martin's School of Art London and Laurence King Publishing present a fine selection of fashion illustrators. The book includes six pages on Zoltan's drawings produced for Vogue UK, Vogue France, Donna Italy, Cartier, Dior amongst other designers and publications.

A visual feast of 400 dazzling images, this is a comprehensive survey of the genre over the last century. Early in the century fashion illustration reflected new, liberating currents in art and culture while the postwar period saw inspiration from the great Parisian couturiers.

After the dominance of the celebrity fashion photographer in the '60s, a new generation of illustrators emerged, embracing the medium of the computer, while many returned to more traditional techniques . . .

illustration by Zoltan

Cartier for Comite Montaigne / VOGUE France

signed / dated 1992

dimensions 15" x 23 "

mixed media : oil paint + gold leaf + black rubber tape + black typography + color photo-montage on handcrafted paper

* auctioned at Drouot Montaigne Paris

private collection








illustration by Zoltan

Christian Dior for Comite Montaigne / VOGUE France

signed / dated 1992

dimensions 15" x 23 "

mixed media : oil paint + black rubber tape + color photo-montage on handcrafted paper

* auctioned at Drouot Montaigne Paris

private collection

illustration by Zoltan

Romeo Gigli / DONNA Italy

signed / dated 1993

dimensions 23 " x 15 "

mixed media : oil paint + gold leaf on handcrafted paper

* auctioned at Drouot Montaigne Paris

private collection

illustration by Zoltan

Balmain Couture / DNA England

signed / dated 2003

dimensions 30 " x 23 "

mixed media : oil paint + color print on handcrafted paper

/ available

illustration by Zoltan

Haute Couture / DOUBLE France

signed / dated 2003

dimensions 15" x 23 "

mixed media : oil paint + b/w print on handcrafted paper

/ available

illustration by Zoltan

Yohji Yamamoto / FEMME France

signed / dated 1989

dimensions 23" x 30.5"

mixed media : oil paint + black rubber tape + yellow accetate film on handcrafted paper

/ available

From previous publication ... "Illustration Today" by THAMES & HUDSON, London :



"One of the most recognised fashion illustrators in the 80’s is the hungarian born Zoltan.


In Zoltan’s drawings there is a strong recognition of his academic fine art studies however, he quickly threw away visual art rules. He was influenced by the aesthetics he picked up in Japan working with Issey Miyake. His asymmetrical compositions and minimalist colours were based on blacks, reds and soothing greens.

At early time, working for Vogue in London and later in Paris, he mixed different medias by placing objects and masking tapes on the surface of his drawings. He experimented with lights and photography where often, he only drew a face and  the rest of the body was created with lights and shadows. These visuals took us back to mystical Asian shadow plays mixed with Toulouse-Lautrec and Egon Schiele type of strong faces and pointed noses. He believed in giving force and recognition to women with strong features rather than choosing  conventional and commercial aesthetics.

Yohji Yamamoto

In 1996, after a successful auction of his illustrations at Drouot Montaigne in Paris, he stopped drawing for over 10 years. He dedicated the following years to photography, graphic design and interactive media.

The desire to create and paint, today has reinstated itself. He stays faithful to his dramatic strong characteristic lines but mixes traditional oil paint with digital media and finishes them off on canavas creating multi-dimensional layers and textures. Currently, he is commuting between San Francisco, Paris and Budapest for his media projects and simultaniously preparing a series of large size oil-digital portraits in San Francisco, for his future exhibition."

portrait number 37º

signed / dated 2003

dimensions 45" x 30"

mixed media : oil paint + silk screen on canavas

/ available