Steven Broadway Q & A

Written by Fashion Publishing | Mar 24, 2010.

stevebroadway A successful fashion illustrator and an instructor at Parsons for over twenty years, Steven Broadway majored in Fashion Illustration at Parsons during the creative and energetic eighties of the Andy Warhol, Diana Vreeland, and Halston era. Broadway also does lectures, critiques and drawing workshops at FIT, and at design schools all over the world.

A Parsons alumnus, what made you decide to start teaching at Parsons?

I majored in Fashion Illustration and absolutely loved being in the colorful, high energy Manhattan of the Flamboyant Fashion and Mega-Club obsessed late 1980′s.

An opportunity came up at Parsons, and my professors strongly recommended me for it. I was out of school only a year when I started! I feel very blessed and love inspiring young talent. It’s a special role that I take very seriously.

What inspires your design style?

The life I live and the incredible people I meet, know and work with in Manhattan and everywhere I travel are entirely responsible for the work that comes out of me. Positive, creative, supportive human ENERGY is the most powerful incentive for me. To be appreciated everyday for who I am, as a person, is a blessing and a terrific motivator!

Yves Saint Laurent has said, “It is a pity but today there are no more fashion illustrators.” What is your take on the current state of fashion illustration?

Photography, with its “believability” and vast reach has impressed the decision-making powers that sell products and fantasy. There are still illustrators creating work that references traditional fashion imagery, but many of them look unskilled, amateurish and generic.

For students wanting to get into the field of illustrations, what do you recommend?

I strongly suggest that students work on creating a personal style in their illustration work; personal in technique, subject matter and most importantly, in their point of view. Students should draw inspiration from life, from photo references, and from their imaginations. This should become a daily healthy habit, like breathing and eating.

Aside from an enthusiasm for fashion, what else will students will take away from your Sophomore Fashion Drawing 1 and 2 classes?

I hope my students will become more comfortable with drawing and developing their own, unique way of making an image communicate a clear idea to their specific audience, with joy, excitement and purpose.

–Cheryl Chan, AAS Fashion Marketing