Isabel Toledo Fashion Guide

Isabel Toledo a hot fashion designer, stylish innovative couture creativity making the first lady Michelle Obama look contemporary.

When it comes to having a designer that is worth talking about take a look at one of the most exciting fashion designers in the United States, Cuban-born Isabel Toledo.

The reason she is the topic of discussion is because she has been honored with a National Design Award from the Cooper- Hewitt Museum and a Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion, given by The Museum at FIT.

She also designed the dress Michelle Obama wore to the inauguration which caught the sight of many fashionistas. Isabels name and work is not just recognized by fashion insiders anymore.

She is on the map due to global exposure on one of the most widely broadcast events in history. Now her creations can be seen by a wider audience.

Books written about Isabel Toledo include:

• Ruben and Isabel Toledo: A Marriage of Art and Fashion by Kim Hastreiter Alix Browne
• Ruben Toledo: Fashionation by Valerie Steele , Richard Martin , Ruben Toledo , Simon Doonan
• Isabel Toledo: Fashion from the Inside Out by Valerie Steele Patricia Mears

Her education in fashion started with her attending the Fashion Institute of Technology and Parsons School of Design, in New York, Here is where she developed an aptitude for architectonic design.

It was in 1985 that she presented her first collection she has not been constricted by fashion seasons or trends, instead she has been evolving her collections at an organic rate.

With her sculptor husband, Ruben Toledo as her muse, Toledo has a distinct flair for pattern cutting and garment construction, rendering volumetric shapes with draping fabrics, experimenting with gathered seams and plentiful layering.

One of the most amazing accomplishments is her recently receiving The Couture Council Artistry of Fashion Award (2008), and is only the third designer to be awarded such an accolade, with previous recipients being Alber Elbaz of Lanvin and Ralph Rucci.

The Fashion Designer is Married to Ruben Toledo, fashion illustrator, author and Renaissance man.

Her husband states that fashion is much more than a luxury commodity which from the start sells dreams by the yard, has magical powers, is clairvoyant and morphs at a moment’s notice. It is impressive to see such a talented couple working together in the same industry and inspiring others with their creativity.

Many have said that Rubens drawings and designs are inspirational and powerful, you can see his Style Dictionary and The Bombshell Manual of Style.

Take a look inside the fashion industry, Ruben Toledo is renowned for his editorial and advertising art, for his Pucci mannequin (the curvy and popular "Birdie") and collaborations with Todd Oldham, and for an overflowing portfolio of work done with his wife, the revered designer Isabel Toledo, with whom he runs Toledo Studio. So of course how can they go wrong, they can share the same passion for the work they love to do.

In his book are a collection of over 150 drawings, watercolors and pen and ink portraits explores, with black humor and a sweetly cynical eye, the ever-changing landscape of fashion and the body language of style. Peek inside the workrooms of couture ateliers and bohemian studios, visit swanky temples of high fashion retail and witness the life and death of a trend. As a cabinet of curiosity,

In his book called: Fashionation it offers the satirical observations of a lifetime, a highly personal look into Toledo’s brain, unwrapping the layers of mystery and association that give fashion its enduring and enigmatic power.

It is also noted that with an introduction by pop culture commentator Simon Doonan and essays by esteemed fashion curators Valerie Steele of FIT and the late Richard Martin of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, among others. Each of the 1000 copies is signed and numbered by Toledo.

What people are saying about Isabel and Ruben Toledo

From the books coming out Valerie Steele states that Interviewing Isabel Toledo, and her fashion illustrator husband Ruben Toledo and other colleagues, clients, and critics,

Valerie Steele gives an account of Toledo’s career and explains that while she has been heralded by leading fashion magazines and featured in stores in New York and Europe, she has not had the long-term financial backing to break out of the niche market.

Other things many fans will like to know is that Patricia Mears investigates the artistic and cultural influences on Toledo’s work and analyzes her unusual methods of construction, noting that she designs in three dimensions in her mind and then begins working directly with fabric.

• Displaying garments Toledo has created since her first show in 1985, this book is a revelatory exploration of a fashion innovator in a mass-market industry.

From her bio we learn that Isabel Toledo is cuban born and grew up in New Jersey and is widely regarded as one of America's finest designers.