RCA PhD student authors book on fashion illustration

Eve’s book, the Practice of Fashion Drawing, will be one of Taiwan’s national textbooks for fashion courses and used throughout Taiwan's vocational high schools. The textbook will be used annually by thousands of Taiwanese students studying womenswear tailoring and fashion design courses.

The textbook will be used in classes where Eve was once a fashion student over 20 years ago. This is the first time the fashion illustration textbook has been updated in almost 10 years. It was therefore important to Eve that she modernised the content and also provided students with the message that they need to gain confidence in their own drawing rather than copying the masters.

‘My aspiration is to inspire young fashion students in Taiwan to express their ideas freely and embrace their individuality through drawing’ said Eve.

The textbook updates the Taiwanese syllabus on fashion illustration by demonstrating contemporary techniques, materials and styles. The book's illustrations are sourced from Eve’s international fashion design education, eclectic examples of illustrations by major designers, and her own practice as a young entrepreneur designer of women’s and menswear.

‘It was fabulous that the publishers took a leap of faith by asking me to author the textbook - previous authors have had over 25 years’ experience in fashion design and teaching. I was a young fashion design educator then,’ said Eve.

When Eve first submitted the textbook for publication, she received some criticism from the peer review panel on revising the content. They thought the draft lacked traditional fine art drawing techniques. Eve credits skills learnt during her PhD at the RCA in helping her get the textbook published:

‘Using a series of international designers’ illustrations, I argued that the purpose of fashion illustration for the next generation should be free, playful and expressive. My PhD study at the RCA has taught me the importance of knowledge and having the confidence to speak to your expertise andbe passionate about it.’

Eve’s original draft was accepted with only minor corrections and the textbook is due to be published in June and in classrooms in September.

You can see more of Eve’s work on her website, Instagram and YouTube.