Quick Studies

Couture

Cocktail Dresses

A&R Groupie

A&R, standing for "Artist & Repertoire" is one of the most fun and fulfilling jobs in the entertainment industry. An A &R Rep is someone who is responsible for an artist's development, they are required to be there every step of the way. When I first created "Haute & Gritty" I felt like sketches that are inspired by the theme would be the type of things an A&R Rep in New York would wear so I started with a polyvore set storyboard and went from there.

Poison Ivy

This illustration is heavily influenced by the "Batman" villainess Poison Ivy as portrayed by actress Uma Thurman in 1997's "Batman & Robin" film. "Batman," of course is set in Gotham City - a parallel universe to New York City. The grittiness of the film inspired the look.

Studio 54 Glamazon

This illustration was done with charcoal and sketch pencil. It is inspired by Bianca Jagger. The broken pearls are meant to represent the frenetic energy of the theme "Haute & Gritty."

Alexis Carrington 2.0

This is a polyvore set I created as an ode to the Glam 80s. It is supposed to be a modernized version of one of the decade's signature looks. It is called Alexis Carrington 2.0 because it features the villainess Alexis Carrington, portrayed by Joan Collins, from the 80s primetime drama "Dynasty."

Haute & Gritty

Haute and Gritty is inspired by New York City in the 1980s, when the city was full of artists like Andy Warhol, designers like Halston, and socialites like Bianca Jagger. I took alot of imagery from Studio 54, a famous club in the city in the late 70s and 80s. The colors red & black are prevalent in this particular collection because they represent danger, excitement, and raw emotion.

Haute & Gritty draws inspiration from films set in New York City, like the updated version of the film "Thomas Crown Affair" and the Gothic architecture found in the city - represented here by the band My Chemical Romance's video for their song "Helena."

Introduction

This digital portfolio presents Ashley Samantha Bender's Fashion Illustrations. Navigation functions can be found on the sidebar. The portfolio has been split into three different collections: Blush Sophisticate, White.Hot.Summer, and Haute & Gritty. I used polyvore sets I created to form an image/theme for each one of the three. Each collection has its own navigation tag and includes an explanation about the inspirations for each.