After three years of intensive study, Marie Sanders (nee Dillon) graduated from the Wellington School of Graphic Design in 1972. The emphasis of the course was not only on learning about the discipline of graphic design, but also on developing drawing skills, including life drawing, perspective drawing, general drawing, and fashion drawing. 

The next year, at the age of 21, she moved to Auckland, got a job in advertising and also met advertising graphic designer Alan Sanders, who became her husband.  After three years working in advertising, Marie got what she considered her dream job, working in-house on the advertisements at Smith and Caugheys, one of the city’s largest and most stylish department stores. This position entailed drawing all manner of products from the store for their daily New Zealand Herald and Auckland Star newspaper advertisements. Illustrations included everything from cosmetics, (which was always the Monday advertisement), to men's, women's, and children's fashion garments and shoes. There were also all the fashion accessories plus kitchen goods, china and furniture. Smith and Caugheys placed an advertisement every day of the week and sometimes two a day, plus seven small drawings were required every week for a shopping column in the Thursday Evening Star newspaper.

Image 1: Autumn, 1979. Image 2: Barker english shoes. Image 3: Autumn Arrives, featuring English and German winter wear.

Meeting the daily copy deadline of 9 am was always stressful and meant learning to work very quickly and to draw fashion figures at speed. At Christmas time there were full-page gift ideas advertisements and similarly for Father's Day and Mother's Day but despite the volume of imagery required having an in-house artist was a cheaper and quicker option than using photography.

 Every week, Marie would go to the American Embassy in Queen Street and collect their old newspapers, which she would eagerly devour for ideas. The beautiful fashion drawings and layouts of the advertisements in the American newspapers, for the big New York department stores, like Bonwit Teller and Bergdorf Goodman, inspired Marie and kept her abreast of the latest trends in illustrating. 

More advertisements for Smith & Caughey's featuring a range of products, including Elizabeth Arden Cosmetics, Marquise babywear, and footwear and handbags.

Her work was drawing attention from others and she was being asked to do freelance work, so after five years at Smith and Caugheys she decided to leave and take up the opportunity to experiment with different styles of fashion drawing.  In 1981 she set up her studio in the front office of Formula Fashions on Emily Place, in the city. The central location was a handy work base from which she could easily go and see most of her clients. 

Many were fashion-focused and included several shoe companies such as Paget Shoes, David Elman, Marler, and Clarks. Although Marie found shoes quite difficult to draw these new customers meant that she soon got the knack of creating appealing illustrations of them. Sneddens, and Gables, whose clothes catered for the more mature woman’s market, were other regulars who needed drawings for their advertisement once a week.

Illustrations for Paget shoes (1,2), David Elman shoes (3) and Gables Fashions (4,5).

Bonds Fashions had a full-page fashion story in the NZ Woman’s Weekly every week, and Marie created the illustrations which sometimes included the use of colours. 

Two illustrations for Bonds.

Other fashion clients included well-known brands, stores, and designers of the day such as Canterbury, Bendon, Chandler House, Slinkys, Scotties, Colin Cole, Estelle Rose, Mark Richard Mens Fashions, and Milnes of Remuera. 

It is the drawings that Marie did for Isabel Harris and Brian Hall and their Thornton Hall brand that she considers her best work. She did fashion drawings of the latest style from the store every week for placement in the daily newspapers. Marie thought their designs were exciting and innovative, She also remembers Isabel being very demanding, and that she knew exactly what she wanted the fashion drawing to look like. Isabel also designed the uniforms for some high-profile clients like Air New Zealand, and the ASB Bank. She would describe in detail what her designs would look like, and from this Marie created the presentation drawings to be pitched to potential clients.

Four illustrations for Thornton Hall.

Marie left the fashion illustration industry in 1988 when her son Michael was born. Meeting the last-minute newspaper deadlines was too hard with a small child. She did not, however, turn her back on drawing altogether and in 2001, a friend gave her a box of pastels, and after years of only doing black and white fashion drawings, she immediately fell in love again. These brightly coloured drawing sticks invited her to draw a coloured figure and face quickly and led to an invitation to teach pastel classes which she did for the next twenty years at three Auckland Art Centres. Drawing on her fashion illustration skills and experience awakened a love of pastel portraiture which she continues to pursue.

A selection of Marie's pastel paintings, Image 1: Self portait. . Image 2: Beatrice.

Marie Sanders' instagram showing fashion illustrations is www.instagram.com/mariesanders.fashionartist  

Her instagram for her pastel paintings is www.instagram.com/mariesandersnz

Text by Marie Sanders.

Edited by Doris de Pont ONZM. 

All images © Marie Sanders.

Cover image: Bonds Summer Separates, illustration by Marie Sanders.