BOBBY HILLSON

When I was studying A Level Art at college my teacher gave me a book to study of illustrations for Biba Fashion Boutique. I love that book and admired the fashion illustrations so much I was tempted to steal it from my teacher (I was young and silly), who I had never really got on that well with. The issue being she ALWAYS wanted to listen to Morrissey and I thought it was just too melancholy for an Art class, I would change the music every time she left the room. She did not appreciate that and I think we were just very different people and butted heads on lots of subjects. But, by my second year of A Level Art, I matured, it suddenly it become very real to me that I wanted to study fashion and textiles at University and I needed my teacher, Sue, to help me get there. I started to respect and admirer her knowledge and her exsentric side. In hindsight I'm glad I didn't pinch that book and now and then I like to listen to a little Morrissey.

With the ease of the internet and a photographic memory (well, for a few things), I found the illustrations I drooled over back in the mid 90's as an aspiring designer.

The illustrator - Bobby Hillson

Back in the 1960's they didn't let photographers into catwalk shows, they used illustrators like Bobby!
Bobby Hillson's career included working for a variety of Condé Nast publications including Vogue, she later work for a couple of British news papers and she was present at Coco Chanels comeback show in the mid 50's.

Biba Girls 

London Collection, John Cavangh, The Observer 1965

1968

The blog Mrs Textiles helped me find these wonderful images of Bobby's work.