Gemma Correll is a UK based illustrator and creator of What I Wore Today (Drawings) - a favourite website of many a Wornette. Here, we chat with Gemma about outfit illustrations, zine making and tie-dyed leggings.
How did you dress in high school?
Well, at school itself I didn’t have a lot of choice, since we had to wear a uniform. But outside of school, I was into the “indie” style of tight band T-shirts and flared jeans- although I did also go through a hippy phase (tie-dyed leggings!) which I’d rather forget.
What is a typical workday like for you?
Well, it kind of builds up slowly. I am not a morning person, so I start the day checking my e-mails and guzzling coffee. After that, I run errands, walk my dog, go to the post office… After lunch, I’m ready to work. I’ll usually work from 2pm until 1am, with breaks for food, coffee and pug cuddles.
Were there any specific inspirations behind creating What I Wore Today?
I really enjoy looking at things like Lookbook and all of the Flickr groups where people post photos of their outfits, but I’m not so much into posting photos of myself online. So it made sense to draw myself in my outfits instead. It’s a good exercise in regular drawing more than a real desire to show people what I’m wearing (since I don’t have a particularly huge wardrobe or maverick fashion sense).
What do you believe to be unique to fashion illustrations that can’t necessarily be conveyed with an outfit photograph?
I think it’s to do with the style and the sense of self that comes through in a drawing. Photographs can get a little homogeneous whereas drawings show more of the person who drew it, whether they are an “artist” or not.
How do you decide which of your own outfits to draw? What makes an outfit illustration-worthy?
It’s actually more about how much time I have to draw. But I try to avoid drawing the same thing twice so it’s partly about that too. Also, if I have a new (to me anyway, since I buy my clothes mostly from charity shops) outfit I’m more likely to be excited about drawing and posting it.
You’ve also created a few zines – what is your favourite thing about zine-making?
I love zines because they don’t have a specific agenda. There might be a theme or a set size, but I draw them for fun rather than for work, which means I free up my drawing style and I’m more likely to experiment with techniques or media. Sometimes, I just have a lot of ideas that I want to get down onto paper, somehow and somewhere, and a zine is a great way to do this.
Gemma’s Top 10 Zine Makers
Mel Stringer
Craig Atkinson / Café Royal
Pacolli (Patricia Colli)
Ward Zwart
Will Bryant
Lizz Lunney
Kate Bingaman-Burt
Deth P Sun
Pikaland
Tom Gauld
- Hailey Siracky
I love how Gemma’s work breaks every rule of traditional fashion illustration (very WORN, that) and yet I have no trouble picturing the clothes. That print dress looks particularly fantastic
I LOVE Gemma’s work, great interview.
Great interview! Gemma is a gem and I am so thrilled that her work is getting lots of recognition. And of course, kudos has to be given to WORN for having such great taste! :)