Starting my career in fashion retail, working with the likes of Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Eva Herzigova, Lara Stone and Małgosia Bela, I always had a passion for drawing. I sketched away during runway shows and thrived on the vibe of the backstage. Working with major magazines like Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Esquire & Tatler for the last 2 decades gave me a deep understanding of the world of fashion from the inside.
Throughout my career I aim to popularize the fashion artistry by creating workshops on fashion illustration all over the world with 3000+ students under my belt.
Currently I am focused on art and run my agency, focused on commercial fashion illustration & production.
I was always surrounded by beautiful and unique people. Übermenschen. Top models, Olympic athletes, ballet dancers. My passion is body language: I started learning it through exquisite clothes and external beauty. Then came the incredible bodies, power, and commitment of Olympians. Now I am fascinated by the intricate plasticity of ballet dancers. My pencil stroke runs alongside my desire to capture the moment. I love watching someone in their peak performance, taking the leap of faith with them. During the sessions I often talk to my models about their pains and fears, or moments of crystal clarity.
I have two preferred mediums. The most perfect and polished are digital sketches, which I then animate and turn into cartoons. The less restricted and free are pencil and ink croquis. Letting the imagination run wild, I barely control my hand, I go with the flow of emotions.
I was totally fearless as a child. Aged 14, to enter the headmaster’s office and suggest a defile at Russian Fashion Week? Aged 17, to fly away to California and become Head of my uni’s art club? Succeed as a fashion illustrator in the country, which only saw international fashion in the 2000s and where no one has ever heard about fashion illustration before? This is all me. Myself. I. Where did this boldness go? What armor of fears, comparisons and self-doubt is it hiding under? This is what I would love to uncover. This is my journey towards the real me.
"Alena Love - 20 years of fashion illustration" is the start of a new chapter for me. From illustration to Art in its essence.
