Runway featuring René Gruau Decorative Prints and Weaves

René Gruau was perhaps the most revered fashion illustrator of all time. Even once the camera took over, no photograph ever captured the moment as did Gruau's brush. His career spanned seven decades beginning in the 1940s, and although the privileged world his work romanced had largely evaporated by his latter years, his style became only more appealing. Regarded by some as the father of modern advertising, his witty imagery conveyed whole worlds with seemingly simple brush strokes, blocks of colour, and the daring use of negative space. Little wonder that he was the illustrator of choice for the fashion greats - Christian Dior, Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent, Lanvin, Hermes, Givenchy, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar... the list is endless.