Kenneth Paul Block
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Paul Block was one of the foremost fashion illustrators of the 20th century. For nearly forty years, he was an in-house artist for Fairchild Publications, owner of Women's Wear Daily
, the garment industry trade paper, and its offshoot, W magazine. As chief features artist, he helped transform the once-dowdy WWD into the bible of the jet set during the 1960s and 1970s. Babe Paley
, Gloria Vanderbilt
, Jacqueline de Ribes
, Amanda Burden
, The Duchess of Windsor
, and Gloria Guinness
were among the society women who posed for him.
Block’s incisive yet graceful brushstrokes captured the most important styles of the post-war era, including collections by Norman Norell
, Yves Saint Laurent, Pierre Cardin
, Coco Chanel
, James Galanos
, Givenchy
, Pauline Trigere
, Bill Blass
, Halston
, and Geoffrey Beene
. In the introduction to Drawing Fashion: The Art of Kenneth Paul Block, published in 2008, Isaac Mizrahi
described Block’s influence: “More than any single designer, he gave New York fashion its sophistication. Because he drew Babe Paley
and Jackie Kennedy a certain way, they became what he had envisioned.”
Block often drew under intense deadline pressure. In the May 2009 issue of Vogue
, photographer Steven Meisel
, who began his career as a fashion artist, recalled Block’s composure: “He would sit there with this long cigarette holder and a polka-dot bow tie, always a sports jacket, immaculate. He never lost his temper. He had so much style, so much class, so much chic."
Growing up in Larchmont, New York in the 1930s, Block was enthralled by the glamorous film stars of the era and by the great fashion artists then working for Vogue
and Harpers Bazaar. Dance and music also had an impact on his developing artistic style. In 1945, he graduated from the Parsons School of Design.
Block joined Fairchild Publications in the mid-1950s. Early assignments included sketching New York ladies on Easter Sunday as they exited churches in their holiday finery, hats and gloves included. As the gentility of the 1950s gave way to the anarchic sixties and beyond, he always kept pace, though he regretted the loss of dignity in fashion; he missed hats and gloves.
Even before Block’s career began, photography had begun to overtake fashion illustration as the primary method of introducing new styles. Block helped keep his métier alive. He stayed with Fairchild until 1992, when all the company’s artists were let go on the same day.
Concurrent with his editorial work, and for a dozen years after his career at Fairchild ended, Block created a prodigious portfolio of commercial fashion art, including drawings made during successive long-term contracts with three of New York’s best-known specialty stores — Bonwit Teller
, Bergdorf Goodman
, and Lord & Taylor
. Other commercial clients included Halston
, Perry Ellis
, and Coach. When Diana Vreeland
joined the Metropolitan Museum of Art
’s Costume Institute, she immediately turned to Block to draw the poster for her first exhibit, on Cristobal Balenciaga
. He also created a drawing for Vreeland’s “American Women of Style” exhibit.
The women in Block’s drawings were known for exuding a languid sort of chic. “Gesture to me is everything in fashion,” he said. His long term companion was Morton Ribyat.
Women's Wear Daily
Women's Wear Daily is a fashion-industry trade journal sometimes called "the bible of fashion." WWD delivers information and intelligence on changing trends and breaking news in the fashion, beauty and retail industries with a readership composed largely of retailers, designers, manufacturers,...
, the garment industry trade paper, and its offshoot, W magazine. As chief features artist, he helped transform the once-dowdy WWD into the bible of the jet set during the 1960s and 1970s. Babe Paley
Babe Paley
Barbara "Babe" Cushing Mortimer Paley was an American socialite and style icon. She was known by the popular nickname "Babe" for most of her life. She was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1958....
, Gloria Vanderbilt
Gloria Vanderbilt
Gloria Laura Vanderbilt is an American artist, author, actress, heiress, and socialite most noted as an early developer of designer blue jeans...
, Jacqueline de Ribes
Jacqueline de Ribes
Comtesse Jacqueline de Ribes is a French socialite and fashion designer. She is also a member of the International Best Dressed List since 1962.-Early life:...
, Amanda Burden
Amanda Burden
Amanda Jay Mortimer Burden is the director of the New York City Department of City Planning and chair of the City Planning Commission....
, The Duchess of Windsor
The Duchess of Windsor
The Duchess of Windsor is a 1980 biography of Wallis, Duchess of Windsor by Diana Mosley. The book was published by Sidgwick & Jackson and by Gibson Square in 2003.-Synopsis:...
, and Gloria Guinness
Gloria Guinness
Gloria Guinness , born Gloria Rubio y Alatorre, was a Mexican-born socialite and fashion icon of the 20th century, and a contributing editor to Harper's Bazaar from 1963 until 1971...
were among the society women who posed for him.
Block’s incisive yet graceful brushstrokes captured the most important styles of the post-war era, including collections by Norman Norell
Norman Norell
Norman Norell was an American fashion designer, known for his elegant suits and tailored silhouettes....
, Yves Saint Laurent, Pierre Cardin
Pierre Cardin
Pierre Cardin Cardin was known for his avant-garde style and his Space Age designs. He prefers geometric shapes and motifs, often ignoring the female form. He advanced into unisex fashions, sometimes experimental, and not always practical...
, Coco Chanel
Coco Chanel
Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel was a pioneering French fashion designer whose modernist thought, menswear-inspired fashions, and pursuit of expensive simplicity made her an important figure in 20th-century fashion. She was the founder of one of the most famous fashion brands, Chanel...
, James Galanos
James Galanos
James Galanos is an American fashion designer, widely considered to be one the world's foremost 20th century couturiers.-Early life:James Galanos was born September 20, 1924 in a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the only son of Greek-born parents...
, Givenchy
Givenchy
Givenchy is a French brand of clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics with Parfums Givenchy.The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by designer Hubert de Givenchy and is a member of Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture et du Pret-a-Porter...
, Pauline Trigere
Pauline Trigère
Pauline Trigère was a French-born American fashion designer, known for her crisp, tailored cuts and innovative ideas.The daughter of a tailor, Trigère was able to operate a sewing machine by age 10 and often assisted her dressmaker mother. Shortly after leaving school, Pauline was employed as a...
, Bill Blass
Bill Blass
William Ralph "Bill" Blass was an American fashion designer, born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is known for his tailoring and his innovative combinations of textures and patterns...
, Halston
Halston
Roy Halston Frowick, also known as Halston was a clothing designer of the 1970s. His long dresses or copies of his style were popular fashion wear in mid-1970s discotheques.-Early life and career:...
, and Geoffrey Beene
Geoffrey Beene
Geoffrey Beene was an American fashion designer.Beene was born in Haynesville, Louisiana. He studied medicine at Tulane University, but dropped out in 1946, after three years. He moved to New York in 1947 to attend the Traphagen School of Fashion...
. In the introduction to Drawing Fashion: The Art of Kenneth Paul Block, published in 2008, Isaac Mizrahi
Isaac Mizrahi
Isaac Mizrahi is an American TV presenter, fashion designer, and was the creative director of Liz Claiborne. He is best known for his eponymous fashion lines.-Early life:...
described Block’s influence: “More than any single designer, he gave New York fashion its sophistication. Because he drew Babe Paley
Babe Paley
Barbara "Babe" Cushing Mortimer Paley was an American socialite and style icon. She was known by the popular nickname "Babe" for most of her life. She was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1958....
and Jackie Kennedy a certain way, they became what he had envisioned.”
Block often drew under intense deadline pressure. In the May 2009 issue of Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
, photographer Steven Meisel
Steven Meisel
Steven Meisel is an American photographer, who obtained popular acclaim with his work in US and Italian Vogue and his photographs of friend Madonna in her 1992 book Sex...
, who began his career as a fashion artist, recalled Block’s composure: “He would sit there with this long cigarette holder and a polka-dot bow tie, always a sports jacket, immaculate. He never lost his temper. He had so much style, so much class, so much chic."
Growing up in Larchmont, New York in the 1930s, Block was enthralled by the glamorous film stars of the era and by the great fashion artists then working for Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
and Harpers Bazaar. Dance and music also had an impact on his developing artistic style. In 1945, he graduated from the Parsons School of Design.
Block joined Fairchild Publications in the mid-1950s. Early assignments included sketching New York ladies on Easter Sunday as they exited churches in their holiday finery, hats and gloves included. As the gentility of the 1950s gave way to the anarchic sixties and beyond, he always kept pace, though he regretted the loss of dignity in fashion; he missed hats and gloves.
Even before Block’s career began, photography had begun to overtake fashion illustration as the primary method of introducing new styles. Block helped keep his métier alive. He stayed with Fairchild until 1992, when all the company’s artists were let go on the same day.
Concurrent with his editorial work, and for a dozen years after his career at Fairchild ended, Block created a prodigious portfolio of commercial fashion art, including drawings made during successive long-term contracts with three of New York’s best-known specialty stores — Bonwit Teller
Bonwit Teller
Bonwit Teller was a department store in New York City founded by Paul Bonwit in 1895 at Sixth Avenue and 18th Street. In 1897 Edmund D. Teller was admitted to the partnership and the store moved to 23rd Street, East of Sixth Avenue...
, Bergdorf Goodman
Bergdorf Goodman
Bergdorf Goodman is a luxury goods department store based on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The company was founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf and was later owned and managed by Edwin Goodman, and later his son Andrew Goodman....
, and Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor, colloquially known as L&T, or LT, based in New York City, is the oldest upscale, specialty-retail department store chain in the United States. Concentrated in the eastern U.S., the retailer operated independently for nearly a century prior to joining American Dry Goods...
. Other commercial clients included Halston
Halston
Roy Halston Frowick, also known as Halston was a clothing designer of the 1970s. His long dresses or copies of his style were popular fashion wear in mid-1970s discotheques.-Early life and career:...
, Perry Ellis
Perry Ellis
Perry Ellis was an American fashion designer who founded a sportswear house in the mid-1970s.-The rise of Perry Ellis:...
, and Coach. When Diana Vreeland
Diana Vreeland
Diana Vreeland was a noted columnist and editor in the field of fashion. She worked for the fashion magazines Harper's Bazaar and Vogue and the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.Born as Diana Dalziel, Vreeland was the eldest daughter of American socialite mother Emily Key Hoffman...
joined the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
’s Costume Institute, she immediately turned to Block to draw the poster for her first exhibit, on Cristobal Balenciaga
Cristóbal Balenciaga
Cristóbal Balenciaga Eizaguirre was a Spanish Basque fashion designer and the founder of the Balenciaga fashion house....
. He also created a drawing for Vreeland’s “American Women of Style” exhibit.
The women in Block’s drawings were known for exuding a languid sort of chic. “Gesture to me is everything in fashion,” he said. His long term companion was Morton Ribyat.
