Antonio Lopez (Illustrator)

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Antonio Lopez (stage name Antonio; born February 11, 1943 in Utuado , Puerto Rico , † March 17, 1987 in Los Angeles ) was an American fashion illustrator .

Life

Antonio Lopez's family moved in 1950 from Puerto Rico to New York City , where he High School of Art and Design in Manhattan and the Fashion Institute of Technology visited. The son of a mannequin manufacturer and a seamstress came into contact with fashion at an early age. Lopez helped his father tie wigs and make up for the mannequins. His mother commissioned him to make appliqués for her clothes. These attracted so much attention that he was awarded a scholarship.

During his training he began drawing for the fashion magazine Women's Wear Daily and started working for the New York Times when he was 19 . In 1969 he moved to Paris for seven years , where he worked with Karl Lagerfeld . In 1974 Lopez discovered the model Jessica Lange and, together with his work colleague Juan Eugene Ramos, later also the models Grace Jones and Tina Chow . He lived with model Jerry Hall in Paris for a while. His life in Paris is often described as "a fun-loving, cosmopolitan and extremely productive genius, a party bird who loved men and women". He was also well known and respected in the fashion and art scene. B. Andy Warhol he was friends. In the nightlife of Paris and other fashion capitals, Lopez appeared as an extravagant and individual spirit.

After his return to the USA, Lopez also worked as a teacher. His drawings have been used by Vogue , Harper's Bazaar , Elle , Interview, and the New York Times .

When Lopez was on a visit to Los Angeles, he died there of his AIDS .

plant

Since the late 1970s at the latest, Lopez has been regarded as one of the style-shaping thought leaders in his discipline. Fashion illustration had lost its importance since the 1960s with the spread of fashion photography , but they continued to coexist for decades. His drawings were published in leading fashion magazines such as Harper's Bazaar, Vogue and Elle and were recognized as an accolade for the models depicted . He was considered one of the most influential personalities in the industry and worked closely with greats such as Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent .

Antonio Lopez's work was characterized by its great creativity and variability over the decades. The influences of the emerging subcultures were reflected in his work - disco and punk are just two examples of the sources of his inspiration.

The changes in the industry also influenced his illustrations, and Lopez managed to masterfully capture these influences. He drew the first models with a multiethnic background, whom he portrayed both as very individual and as universal personalities. The ability to depict people's personal attributes in his drawings is cited as one of the reasons why he was able to compete with the great photographers of his time. Through the posture of the neck, the head and a slightly arrogant look, he worked out the self-confidence of the women depicted. Jerry Hall writes in her memoir: "Antonio always brought humor and lightness into his work [...] He never stopped drawing, experimented with different styles and produced countless works." Paloma Picasso reported in W Magazine about his working style in his Paris apartment on Boulevard Saint-Germain , which was made available to him by his friend Lagerfeld: “I always thought it was amazing he could work in the middle of all that, but he liked it. It made it more exciting […] He'd start drawing at the end of the afternoon, and we'd go until four or five in the morning. I had never posed like that before — not even for my parents! ”While drawing, Curtis Mayfield and T. Rex boomed from a boom, Picasso continues.

In addition to the fashion illustrations and drawings, Antonio Lopez took photos. He also works on the design of the New York discotheque Studio 54 .

Publications

  • with Christopher Hemphill, Juan Ramos & Karen Amiel: Antonio's Girls. Thames and Hudson, 1982, ISBN 978-0-500-27265-7
  • with Richard Burton & Roy Finamore: Antonio's Tales from the Thousand & One Nights. Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 1985, ISBN 978-0-941434-77-5

Literature (selection)

  • Antonio 60's. Galerie Bartsch and Chariau, Munich 1995
  • Roger Padilha & Mauricio Padilha: Antonio Lopez: Fashion, Art, Sex, & Disco. Contributions by Bill Cunningham, Anna Sui and Andre Leon. Talley Rizzoli, 2012, ISBN 978-0-8478-3792-2
  • Juan Eugene Ramos (Ed.): Antonio. 60 - 70 - 80. Three decades of fashion. Schirmer-Mosel, Munich / Paris / London 1994, ISBN 3-88814-719-0

Web links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ a b Miriam Stein: Sex, Disco & Fashion. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . October 19, 2013, p. V2 / 5
  2. ↑ Karen Nelson: Shooting Star . In: W Magazine. September 2012
personal data
SURNAME Lopez, Antonio
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Antonio (stage name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American fashion illustrator
DATE OF BIRTH February 11, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH Utuado, Puerto Rico
DATE OF DEATH March 17, 1987
Place of death los Angeles