Caroline Riches

Biography

Award winner Fida 6th awards 2022

Commended artist Fida 7th awards 2023

Finalist Fida 4th awards 2021

Educated at the Royal College of Art in MA Fashion Design, Caroline’s fashion illustration practice explores a mixed media methodology routed in art school life drawing principles. A professional industry member of Fida worldwide the artist has art gallery representation in Chicago USA, exhibiting and selling her work regularly.

Caroline’s work is underpinned by extensive knowledge of the fashion design process and the creative rendering of fabrics qualities. Her practice is often described as hand drawn, figurative and painterly and is suitable for commission, editorial, trend and exhibiting in fashion museums.

Alongside illustrating contemporary ready to wear collections, Caroline has a passion for drawing historical fashion with a particular interest in the work of Christian Dior and Cristóbal Balenciaga between 1955-1965.

The artist has been employed as a Fashion Design lecturer for many years at Leeds Arts University UK, presently focused on teaching drawing for fashion, conceptual design development for final collection and fashion industry live projects.

A Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) Caroline’s most recent academic research explores ‘The preservation of analogue drawing within fashion design education’.

Past published research has included curating the international peer reviewed exhibition and paper, ‘The Radical Decade’ alongside working with BA and MA students on the drawing of archived fashion to aid design development.

The artist has exhibited a collection of drawings including her Alexander McQueen painting as part of a major fashion exhibition at the Bankfield Museum UK.

Recently work was selected for the Fida curated exhibitions ‘With Love Halston’ the National Arts Club, New York City (2022) and ‘The Nando and Elsa Peretti foundation’ Art Basel Miami (2022)

Publications

The Fible -Part 3

The Fible – Part 2 The Fashion Illustration Bible.

Almond, K. and Riches, C. (2018) ‘Gerald McCann: the rediscovery of a fashion

designer’, The Journal of the Costume Society, 52 (1), pp. 97-122.

LFW E-Magazine 2021: A collection of drawings for London Fashion Week.

www.Issuu.com

LFW E-Magazine 2022: A collection of drawings for London Fashion Week.

www.Issuu.com

Exhibitions

(2023) Fida Summer exhibition

(2023) The Cutting Table Leeds Arts University