Nicole Jarecz doesn’t think you have to live in one of the world’s fashion capitals to have a successful career as an illustrator. Although she lived in Paris for six years, Jarecz is based in Detroit and has never been as busy as she is today. Illustration is her only profession, which she divides between commissioned work, editorial work and live sketching for the fashion industry. Her clientele includes magazines, brands and department stores including Marie Claire, J Crew, Saks Fifth Avenue, Glamour, Roger Vivier, Fiat, Ford Motor Company, Chandon, Macy’s and Neiman Marcus. In an interview, she tells FashionUnited what a day in the life of a fashion illustrator looks like.
How did you decide to pursue illustration as a profession?
I didn’t choose to be an illustrator on purpose. The call came to me in a totally unexpected way. One of my high school teachers noticed my drawing talent in my senior year and suggested I check out the College for Creative Studies (CCS) in Detroit. Up until this point, I never would have thought that illustration could become a profession. I wondered what exactly is illustration? Long story short, I ended up going to CCS and studying illustration. I learned that this is a very broad field. I ended up falling in love with fashion illustration and that’s the profession I’m doing today.
How did you make a name for yourself?
Since moving back to Detroit, I feel like I can establish myself. That’s mostly because of the live sketching events I’ve hosted. There is a very small but very dedicated fashion community in Detroit that has allowed me to make a name for myself here.
Has living away from a fashion capital like NYC proved to be a hindrance to your career?
Not in the slightest! It’s been a career boon to be in Detroit. I spent six wonderful years in Paris, the fashion capital of the world. That was a great enrichment for my life as an artist and I am eternally grateful for that. But it was a difficult time for my career. I think the timing wasn’t right. I didn’t know what I wanted to do in my career as an illustrator. I was young and also started a family. When I moved back to Detroit I thought it would be a fun idea to pitch the idea of live sketching events to some big luxury stores. From then on everything took its course. I was offering the community something unique and special that no one had done before. In that sense, I was lucky in that I was the first in Detroit to offer live sketching for fashion. Could I have done that in Paris too? I think it would have been much more difficult because the big city is so saturated with artists and so many people who want to make it in the fashion industry. I am fortunate to call Detroit home.
Do you have an agent?
Yes. I have an agent, Colagene, representing me in Canada for editorial inquiries.
Do you have a regular working day and weekends off?
The great thing about what I do is that I can organize my working hours myself. Now that my kids are both in school, I’m trying to be consistent and work in my office Monday through Friday from 9am to 3pm. The work I do during the week can range from commissioned work to editorial work to filming content for brands like Faber-Castell and creating my own content for my Instagram page. Often during the week I prepare for live sketching events: I cut paper, practice sketches (all the boring stuff!). My weekends are usually packed with live sketching events. Now that my kids have summer vacation, I take most of the summer off to be with them. I only book live events for the summer. Illustration is great in my case because it allows me to be flexible for myself and my family.
What qualities, other than talent, do you think people considering fashion illustration as a career should have?
They can have all the talent in the world, but that doesn’t help if they don’t have other important qualities. I think it’s important to be consistent. They must love what they do, not be afraid of failure, and recognize that failure is an important process of learning and growing. As an illustrator you are constantly growing and evolving. As fashion trends change, so will illustration style. My advice is: never let anyone tell you that you have to have a certain style. It’s important to experiment so you don’t get stuck.
What do you like most and least about your work?
What I like best is that I do something creative every day. Yesterday, today and tomorrow always look different and I’m always learning and growing as an artist. What I dislike the most is that the hustle and bustle can be quite tiring at times. Sometimes I need a break from essential business tools like Instagram. I have to switch off sometimes.
How do you imagine an ideal assignment?
I love it when clients are passionate about their vision and when it aligns with my own. When someone can be very specific about what he or she wants, but still allow me to let my imagination run wild and get involved. In my opinion, this is the moment when the best work is created. When the customer has a vision but is open to my interpretation.
How important is a presence on social media for your work?
Social media presence is very important. I post everything I make on my Instagram feed, from the tiniest sketch to large, detailed works. It’s my whole universe that I share with others and I can’t imagine promoting my work without Instagram. I have received so many job offers via Instagram and keep in touch with old and new clients as well as with colleagues who work in the same field as me.
How would you like to develop professionally?
My business has grown so much over the past year, especially with live sketching events. I would be happy if this area would grow even more. It seems like every weekend is occupied by a different type of event. I love this. I hope next year I’ll be able to travel and show my live sketching in other US states. Someday I dream of going back to Paris and doing events there. I would like to work on an international basis in the future. You never know what the future will bring!
Do you think it’s important to keep experimenting and expressing yourself creatively as a commercial illustrator?
I can answer that with 100 percent yes! If I do the same thing over and over again, I get depressed. It is very important to me to create work for myself. I try to make time during the week to create something completely different, even if I don’t show it on Instagram. For example, I experiment with different techniques or illustration styles. You never know when you might be able to apply that to your work in the future.
This article was previously published on FashionUnited.uk. Translation and editing: Barbara Russ