When comics and fashion collide...
Filed under: Style in the News, Clothing, Celebrities with Style, Books
Honestly, it's probably not that difficult to tell that I'm a complete geek. I mean, come on, I'm a professional blogger for crying out loud. A big part of being a geek is attending comic book conventions. There's nothing quite like being swept away in a crowd of sweaty Stormtroopers and guys who only leave their mother's basement for more Mountain Dew and Fritos. Somehow, fashion made its way into the Baltimore Comic-Con this past weekend.On Sunday, I attended the super-packed panel featuring illustrator James Jean and comic book artist Paul Pope and I was immediately filled with geeky joy. Not only did the guys share their beautiful new art books, Jean and Pope talked about some sweet upcoming projects.
Jean, who is probably best known as the amazing cover artist for the brilliant comic series Fables, just designed some crazy ads and fabrics (!) for Prada (!!!). He showed the audience the artwork, and it was stunning. The lines are flowing and beautiful and the pieces look huge. The full thing will eventually go on display at Prada's SoHo location, which means I'll have another reason to go to that store, stand outside, and look poor.
Paul Pope, on the other hand, has done similar work for Diesel, so many of you may have seen his stuff already. At one point, the panel host, fellow artist Jose Villarrubia, accidentally let it slip that Pope is working on a very hot, very exciting fashion-related project. He'll be designing clothes for an extremely cool company. Honestly, I would feel guilty if I let it spill which company it is, because no official announcement has been made just yet (and because Pope was a real nice guy to me and drew a Mexican wrestler in my sketchbook). Since I wasn't at the panel to report for Styledash and had just attended for fun, I'll respect Pope and let the news come when it comes. But let me say this: I can't wait to see what Pope creates for this company, because if his artwork is any indication of what is to come, the company will get a whole new edge.
It's crazy how comic book artists have crossed over into every world now. Not only are graphic novels infiltrating the cinema and TV and toy stores, but now they're taking over the fashion industry. Look out! Geek is in.