A few weeks ago I came across Spanish illustrator Anais Galvez on Deviant Art, and to my surprise I couldn’t find much more information about her.  Drawn to her detailed textures,  and compositions that speak volumes about fashion and its history, we were crazy excited to interview Galvez.

Former fashion designer turned fashion illustrator, Galvez talked to us about her inspirations, goals, and the hurdles that she has had to overcome.  With a clear understanding of the world of fashion, Galvez interprets current and past fashion trends in her fashion illustrations.  I have to say, Galvez is one of my favorite up and coming illustrators and 100% one to keep an eye out for.  Her website will be up within the next week, anaisgalvez.com and you can find her on DeviantArt.

Check out Anais Galvez’s interview below and sign up for the D2G newsletter, become part of the community and stay up to date!

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D2G: What creative project are you looking forward to starting and/or working on in 2012?

Anais Galvez:

Hi!

First of all, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to take this interview and for supporting my work. It´s a pleasure to cooperate with you.

About your first question.. Nowadays I´m buried with work because of one truly interesting project that I’m working on, which is the fashion illustration book. I can’t tell more about this as it has just started, but I hope that next year it will be ready.

D2G: Now that you are a trained and educated illustrator, what would be your preference of delivering your work to the world?  I.E. Posters, commercial work, fashion industry.  How do you see yourself getting there?

Anais Galvez:

Well, the truth is that I don’t have any problems with working in different subjects related to the fashion illustration. It would be great to create my own business logo for a company or, as I mentioned before – a fashion book though making advertisements seems enjoyable as well.

What brings me the happiness is the possibility to create illustrations and the chance to show to the word that fashion is more than a mere dress, that it isn´t as frivolous as people think and that it has a lot of potential. I don´t care which way my work arrives to the public, the most important is that it arrives.

To the second part of the question..  I´ll answer in this way: working a lot, demanding a lot from myself and being persistent. I think that this is the best way to be someone. If my work goes better, my career must go better as well. In few years I can see myself working on the project connected with fashion illustration. I can’t define it in details, but I’m sure that I will get up every morning with the wish to improve, as it happens today.

D2G:If any, what parts of being an illustrator do you find frustrating, infuriating, or tedious and how do you overcome those feelings?

Anais Galvez:

Pfff..that´s a good question! The fact is that for me, the worst part is to make a normal working day and not being paid for it. Working one’s butt off at your work and then see that people don´t understand the effort of sitting each morning in front of the desk and working without any more incentive than your own wish to improve and be someone.

It´s really frustrating when people brand your work as a hobby or something similar. Without any doubt the most exasperating part is when someone arrives and ask you for an illustration or a dress design totally for free, because they think you don´t have anything better to do.

The fact is that there’re many frustrations at my work but it´s really an insignificant part of this job if you compare it with the personal satisfaction after finishing an illustration, or when you see that your work is being liked by different types of people, or people who are not your friends are paying attention to your work and falling in love with it. It’s worth it, for sure.

 D2G: The textures that you use in your pieces are amazing, doing justice to the fashion aspect of the overall composition.  Do you draw inspiration from current trends seen on the runway?  If so what was your favorite collection from Spring 2012?

Anais Galvez:

More than following trends, I like to look for things in a lot of catwalks, the latest and the oldest ones. Fashion history books are another source of inspiration that really fascinates me. Mostly because there’re incredible pieces that a lot of people forgot about and that it is really great to play with them at a drawing time. But still mostly I look for inspiration in catwalks. My PC is full of folders with pictures of collections – not the newest ones but from unknown designers or really old ones. The truth is that I fall in love with it every time I see them.

I´m used to pay attention to everything thanks to the people who put their his work on fashion blogs, so it is really easy for me. So far I can tell that at this moment, Giambattista Valli’s collection looks exquisite. His elegance is irresistible and the way he treats the fabric and how he works with it is speechless. Without any doubt, I hope to draw something of his last collection soon.

 D2G: What collection are you looking forward to seeing in the upcoming NY Fashion Week?

Anais Galvez:

Definitely I would like to see Michael Kors and Elie Tahari. I love the way they dress current woman. They have that characteristic cosmopolitan point from NY but with an incredible power of duality. I really love it! Maybe someday I´ll be lucky to have the chance to assist to NY catwalk, who knows???

D2G: Where do you go to find inspiration?

Anais Galvez:

Where do I find my inspiration? I think that all is the fruit of my childhood. The fact is that since I was a child I love stories from brothers Grimm tales, that my mother used to read me and Disney films and fantastic tales from my adolescence. All this has a big influence on my drawing style.

When you prepare a catwalk, you have to be conscious that the music is important, that the model´s look, the accessories and even the catwalk itself are vital for to the collection to shine over others. So when you do an illustration, as I do, you also have to be conscious that there is more than one dress. So I´ll say that the dresses themselves inspire me at the time to create a universe only for them, and the tales are the perfect stage for them.

D2G: You seem to draw inspiration from an era and elaborate on the fashion, providing detail about the  time period in the background.  What is your favorite time period?  Why?

Anais Galvez:

The fact is that there are many historical periods that fascinate me and I see myself unable to choose only one period. The best that I can do is to point at a few of them – there is no other way! (laughs) Excuse me, but I´m an art history lover and it must be shown in any place.

I choose XIV and XV centuries, they are fantastic, in architecture and clothing. The wealth of the fabrics is awesome in the Middle Ages, and so are the gothic cathedral details. Put a good bride dress or night dress in an environment like this with its accessories, and for sure, you will have a victory.

There is also another period that I can define as my favorite. It is the XVIII century, where baroque style is at its maximum expression. There I can see a Christian Dior dress shown at Versailles Palace surrounded by hundreds of cakes, like Marie Antoniette…just captivating.

Finally, another of my favorite time that is in my style, is the beginning of the XX century, where japanism, art nouveau and art decó involves all.

 I love that artistic currents and I think less futurist dresses, the others have a space in an environment like this.

D2G:What illustrators do you currently admire?  If you could meet your favorite illustrator, and could only ask one question: what would it be?

Anais Galvez:

There are many illustrators that I admire – even more that historical ages, but if I have to choose only one, it would be will be Laura Laine, for sure. Her hair movement is just spectacular, and how she gets the fabric texture is just incredible. I adore her woman conception, not perfect, a little dark, thin but with curves… Incredible.

The fact is that I ask myself if I would be able to say a word if I met her.  I think I would be too nervous to think straight! (laughs).But if I were able to say a word, I would say “How on earth have you had enough guts to broke the perfect woman stereotype with the help of just a pencil?”.Simply sensational!

D2G:If you had to choose one of your pieces that represents who you are as a person the most, which one would it be?  Why?

Anais Galvez:

Which draw represents me most as person? Well, all the drawings represents me in some way because they are part of who I am, of my life, my worries and my dreams. Nonetheless I try to make my works impersonal and let them represent art.

Which draw represents my style? I think I identify myself overall with “Rue Cour Du Dragon”. It´s the one which mostly reflects my passion for tales, the interest that I have to historical elements, the woman’s delicacy and her fragility, her not entirely perfect pose and the beauty of the ornamental elements typical of art nouveau. This and a good chromatic range form my style and it is reflected in “Rue Cour Du Dragon” the best.

D2G:What has been your biggest accomplishment as an illustrator? What hurdles did you need to overcome in order to achieve this?

Anais Galvez:

Wow! This question is really difficult!! In fact, I can´t say anything special about this, because it’s only 5 months since I decided to leave my career as fashion designer and dedicate myself uniquely and exclusively to illustration. Honestly I believe that my biggest success is to make decision to overlook my future after getting my fashion degree and to get involved in the project I´m starting now in 2012.

I hope I would be able to answer this question in some years and tell you more about this, but now, I´m satisfied and I´m really happy to be where I am

D2G:If your illustrations were made into fashionable apparel/illustrated tops, I’d be the first to seen wearing it around town!  Have you thought about creating illustrations specific for apparel?  If so, what would you create?

Anais Galvez:

As I said before, for me, any way inside this job would be fascinating. Of course I would love my illustrations to be printed on clothes and people liked to wear them. It would be a flattery for me and my work.

I believe that fashion illustration for a poster or a book is a way different from the one for the clothes. If I were to create illustrations or patterns only for clothes I would try to adapt it to the pattern of a straight skirt, in which the drawing gets near the hip or maybe an illustration thought to embellish a t-shirt and accentuate the back and the narrowness of the waist. I like it the most in this way. I feel that the illustration can highlight a garment or the body.

D2G:Do you believe the combination of fashion and illustration are poised for growth in the years to come?

Anais Galvez:

I believe that fashion illustration is there as long as the fashion industry though it´s true that in the last 100 years, fashion has been acquiring more importance in the society than ever before. For this reason I believe that the illustration demand should increase – the bigger fashion houses number, the bigger illustration demand.

 A catwalk can´t exists without the art of the music, the music may be born thanks to the inspiration of a theater piece, this piece should star in a book, and also, this book can star in a photography that also was created by the influence of a painting or an painter. Art calls art and it´s something that always has been like this. I consider that we are an universe made by organisms in full symbiosis. So, yes, I believe that wherever exist art, fashion and illustration will continue feeding each other

Finally, I want to thank you again for giving me a little corner in your web page. I believe that you make a really valuable work and that you are an essential engine that allows the art to arrive to every little place in the world

Congratulations!!!

 

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