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Artist Rosie McGuinness On Why She Draws Confident And Casual Women
24/11/23
Author: Ingrid Kesa
DOCUMENTED BY: Rosie McGuinness
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London-based artist Rosie McGuinness creates strikingly minimal works.
Artwork By: Rosie McGuinness
London-based artist Rosie McGuinness creates strikingly minimal works.
A departure from the notion of traditional fashion illustration, she expertly balances colour and composition to evoke a certain mood or moment. Her unique portrayal of fashion, rendered through a distinctly female gaze, has seen her work with Dior, Galeries Lafayette, COMME des GARÇONS and Sunspel.
McGuinness’s eye for style, and an appreciation for clothing and textiles, was cultivated from a young age, partly due to her particularly stylish Grandma and her boxes of scarves, hats and fabrics. It’s a love that led McGuinness to study womenswear design. “However, it quickly became apparent that I was no good at the technical side of things,” she says. While McGuinness soon abandoned the pursuit of designing clothes, she continued with the joy of depicting them.
Documented By: Rosie McGuinness
Life drawing classes gave McGuinness a deep appreciation of form and for capturing the figure and subject. “I’ve never been a fan of classic fashion illustration poses or that theatrical style of drawing. I like to draw casual women, who are at ease and feel good in whatever they are wearing, rather than being ‘on show’,” she explains. “The pose and posture are so interlinked with the outfit, it’s all contextual - the mood, attitude, comfort or discomfort, setting, occasion.”
Despite recognising that clothing, textile design and fabrics are an ongoing theme in her life, McGuinness doesn’t necessarily categorise her work as fashion illustration. Unless she’s working on a specific commission, she isn’t as drawn to certain brands, garments or looks as to an overall atmosphere. “Most of my figures are in jeans and a jumper, or something equally simple, with details in the pose, posture, colours, patterns and jewellery. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, a bit like an outfit in itself, perhaps,” she says.
When it comes to her own approach to dressing, McGuinness doesn’t go in for brand names and loud logos. For this reason, she’s drawn to “classic, anonymous clothing, and vintage.” She’s enamoured by the details in clothing - like cuffs, buttons, or a collar - or how a play of proportions and fabric combinations can make an ensemble sing. Less guided by rules and more by instinct, for McGuinness the magic lies in how fashion feels and the interactions you can have in an outfit.
Artwork By: Rosie McGuinness
Unsurprisingly, McGuinness rarely looks to the runway for inspiration. Instead, she finds it in everyday women who are out and about in the southeast London borough of Lewisham, where both her studio and home are located. When asked whose style she admires, McGuinness answers, “People who consistently let you know what music they like with their clothing.”
Instagram has been a fantastic tool for gaining exposure and connecting with clients. “I work with some wonderful clients and am often pleasantly surprised by the projects they approach me with, but it’s also become apparent to me that the jobs you turn down are as important as those you take on,” she says.
Artwork By: Rosie McGuinness
Using pen, ink, pencil and gouache, McGuinness’s way of working is fluid and fast. She likes the rapid pace of drawing and working on paper. Not precious with materials and working quickly, she often repeats or pairs compositions to create a series of works and overall scenes. McGuinness also does some monoprinting, which she similarly likes for the “immediacy and looseness”. Embracing the inconsistencies and anomalies in her work, McGuinness values this organic and handmade quality.
McGuinness is currently part of a group show, ‘Drawings’, at Le Pigalle in Paris until January 2024. She is also working on a textile commission and a new series of prints with The Poster Club, which will be launching in the new year.
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Artwork By: Rosie McGuinness
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