Lopez, Antonio, 1943-1987 (1943 February 11-1987 March 17)
Dates
- Existence: 1943 February 11-1987 March 17
Biography
Antonio Lopez was born in 1943, in Utuado, Puerto Rico. He was the son of a couturier, and moved to New York at the age of eight. He studied at the High School of Industrial Art and the Fashion Institute of Technology. In the early 60's, he worked as a sketch artist on 7th Avenue, until in 1964, he met the designer Charles James, who was to be an enormous influence on him. Antonio worked with James, drawing all the designer's clothes, for a number of years.
In 1969, while on a working trip for Elle Magazine in Paris, he met fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, who encouraged him to set up a studio in Paris. He established himself as the foremost fashion illustrator on both sides of the Atlantic, commissioned by fashion magazines with any regularity during the lean years of the 60's and 70's in many publications including Women's Wear Daily and the New York Times. He died in 1987 at the age of 44.