Jeanette Getrost is a Los Angeles-based fashion illustrator. She has worked with numerous brands including 7 For All Mankind, Coach and Estée Lauder. Her drawings and process videos have amassed a following well over 100k on Instagram. In 2015, Vogue magazine’s Emily Farra titled Getrost as one of ‘fashion’s new It Girls’.
As a teen, Getrost had dreams of becoming a fashion designer but quickly realised, what she really loved was drawing clothes. She enrolled in a community college to study Fine Art. It was during this time where she developed an eye and understanding for illustration. She enjoyed life drawing and began expanding her technical skills.
After college, she found work in various art galleries and later a vintage fashion retailer in Los Angeles. While working at the vintage store, she discovered the importance of social media and made it her job to enhance the brand’s social presence. On the side, she was designing logos and greeting cards, but that was not fulfilling her passion for illustration.
In 2013 she bit the bullet, left her 9-to-5 and set her sights on becoming a freelance illustrator. Taking her social media knowledge forward, she very strategic branded herself online. She made it a point to post every single day as well as illustrating famous fashion brands and blogger, in the hope they would re-post her work. A year later, her Instagram following had reached 10k. Jumping two more years, Getrost has become one of the fashion industry’s most in-demand illustrators.
In addition to working with big fashion brands, Getrost illustrates at live events and teaches illustration workshops. Getrost is not just a fashion illustrator, she is a fashion influencer. The role, originally reserved for fashion bloggers, is now being filled by modern fashion illustrators. When asked about this she said:
I think artists and illustrators have always been part of the fashion community. I always think back to Andy Warhol.
It may seem a little odd that illustrators, finding fame through Instagram, can go on to become influencers. Especially as nowadays it seems that the spotlight can often overlook illustration. However, some of the early fashion illustrators reached a similar sort of success and influence, such as René Vincent and Carl Erickson. Warhol, though he had his finger in many pies, is certainly noteworthy. Illustration is destined to come in and out of mode, which is why the attention Getrost, and her peers, are receiving right now can only be seen as encouraging and inspiring.
You can find more of Jeanette Getrost’s work on Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter. You should also check out NYFW: Jeanette Getrost x Tadashi Shoji, a day in the life of fashion illustrator, and hear her discuss the topic of Artist as Influencer.
