Eric Antos and His Silhouette

Eric Antos is truly a gem. The 23 year old freelancing fashion designer and illustrator is currently based in San Francisco and New York. Upon graduation at the Fashion Design programme at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising San Francisco, he has worked for retail maverick and visionary Susan for two years, world renowned for her taste - carrying the most elite roster in fashion (including Comme des Garçons, JunyaWatanabe, Tao, Undercover, Lanvin, Marni, and Sophie Theallet.) It was in this environment where he learned a significant wealth of information about the clientele of the luxury industry and began his career. In February 2009, he worked in New York during Fashion Week for Fall 2009/10 as an aide and intern for Frank Tell and Zac Posen.

Dazed Digital: So, how did you get into fashion illustrating?
Eric Antos: My unrelenting passion for sketching in general began at the age of two, developing into sketches of women at the age of five. By the age of ten, the sketches evolved into a focus on garments and accessories, hair and makeup - the entire look. Alexander McQueen’s FW 1998 Collection, “Joan” was the first show I saw in its entirety, and from there I was hooked.

DD: What is fashion?
Eric Antos: Fashion is a response to the cultural zeitgeist... a designer must be receptive to change in the world and design accordingly. Fashion is also change, new development in textile research and understanding of clientele and communication. Fashion cannot be ignorant, otherwise it is irrelevant.

DD: How would you describe your own work?
Eric Antos: In my work, the focus is on silhouette, first and foremost. There always seems to be this tension of conflict in my work, with definite contrast of fabrications in a look. Textile development is a personal passion, and the fabric and its weave is always foremost when sketching a design. Also, being an astute Virgo, there is an immense devotion to details. Conveying texture is also an important aspect of my work, will the hopeful result of evoking emotion from the viewer.

DD: How would you describe your own work?
Eric Antos: The illustrations begin with an idea, usually a gesture sketch either in a journal or a random piece of paper (napkins, receipts, etc.) I read books on fashion history, hand-sewing construction, and textiles often, so I take notes on different fabrications or notable construction details to use. I spend around 6-8 hours a day working on illustrations.

DD: What’s your most used idiom phrase?
Eric Antos: “It is what it is.” - The most repetitive phrase in retail management.

DD: What are your future goals?
Eric Antos: To have my illustration work published in magazines (working on this at the moment.) However, the most  significant goal of my entire life is to have my own design house one day, and to be able to develop original textiles, as well as to collaborate on shoes with Pierre Hardy and jewelry with Taher Chemirik. Also, to be able to show my collection during Fashion Week (I draw the girls in my illustrations as the exact models I would want in each look.) I would love to work directly with a magazine to gain greater insight into publication, and to have a campaign shot by David Sims, Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin, or Nick Knight. The dream I hold dearest right now would be to learn from Nicolas Ghesquiere and Pierre Hardy one day.

The series of drawings shown in the gallery is called “External Conflict”, a mock ad campaign for a FW 2010-11 Collection - with the models Daul Kim, Karlie Kloss, Lakshmi Menon, Iekeliene Stange, Iris Strubegger, Natasa Vojnovic and Raquel Zimmermann.