Glossy x Nicole Jarecz

Here at Glossy towers we’re loving Nicole Jarecz’s beautiful fashion illustrations. So much so that we featured one of them in the latest issue of the magazine (issue 5). But still curious as to how the up and coming illustrator got her start we caught up with her to find out more.

Glossy: When did you first realize you had a talent for drawing and what do you love about fashion illustration?

Nicole: I’ve always loved to draw from a very young age. I remember coloring between the lines when others couldn’t and was always named the best artist in all of my classes when I was younger. But, I didn’t realize I wanted to go into the arts until I was a junior in high school. I was taking a lot of art classes and my teachers recommended that I check out some art schools. I went to National Portfolio Day and realized I had a lot of work to do…so that’s what I did. I worked hard on my portfolio and that led to me going to art school the following year. I love fashion illustration because it’s such a unique form of illustration. It’s always changing and is always on top of today’s market. In my eyes it’s just a beautiful and exciting artform.

Glossy: How did you go about pursuing illustration as a full time career?

Nicole: When I went to art school they taught me all of the drawing basics for the first two years of my studies. I didn’t focus on fashion illustration until my junior year. It was a natural progression of who I was and still am as a person. I love this field because there is always something new to do and I’m always getting inspired by fashion and pop culture. The main thing that has helped me out the most has been my blog. I love to connect with others in the fashion industry, not just other illustrators. It’s been a great way to get my work out there. Because of this, I have gotten a lot of freelance work from magazines, online publications and fashion designers.

Glossy: What’s been the highlight of your career so far?

Nicole: There is not one particular things that strikes me as being the highlight of my career. I would say that my portfolio is slowly going where I want it to go and I’m very happy about that. There’s still so much work that I need to do! It’s a never-ending process…and in a sense, that’s what keeps me going. I want to get better at what I do every day.

Glossy: Which other artists/illustrators inspire you?

Nicole: The first fashion illustrator that I fell in love with was Rene Gruau. He did a lot of advertisements for fashion houses and magazines in Paris. His line work is unbelievable and very inspiring. Many fashion illustrators look to him since he was one of the first. I also love the work of current fashion illustrators such as Garance Dore, Laura Laine and Cocopit. Garance has a great approach to line work as well. Laura’s work is very edgy and dark but also beautiful. I love her stylization of figures. I also love Cocopit because she has a very feminine style with her technique and the colors that she uses.

Glossy: What would be your dream commission ?

Nicole: My dream commission would be to do illustrations for Nylon magazine. It’s been very difficult to get in contact with them! Other magazines that I would love to work with are Paper, City, WAD and Purple…all of them are so amazing!! It would also be amazing to do a tshirt for Colette. I love this store! And, I’m actually moving to Paris this summer…so maybe one day it will happen!

Glossy: How do you see your work evolving in the future?

Nicole: There are always new things that I want to try but I also strive for consistency in my work to make my portfolio harmonious. I would like to experiment with different techniques in the future. But, I really see myself trying to focus my portfolio more on design in the next year. I had an internship at a fashion design studio and loved that I could do that sort of work as well as my illustration work. I’ve been working on my collection and am hoping to have one of my designs made soon. Eventually I would love to learn how to sew and do pattern-making to broaden my horizons.

Glossy: What are your favourite blogs/magazines ?

Nicole: I love British Harper’s Bazaar for their take on fashion. A couple other fashion magazines that I find very inspiring are Muse and Purple. I also always read Garance Dore’s blog and look at photos from thecobrasnake. There are too many blogs to name that I love!

Glossy: Can we currently buy your work anywhere?

Nicole: If you go to my blog you can follow a link on the right side bar that will bring you to my online tshirt shop. I have one tshirt for sale right now. I hope to eventually open up an etsy store to sell some prints of mine.

Keep up with Nicole at: www.dripbook.com/nicolejarecz
njareczillustration.blogspot.com