Jordi Labanda

FIG is pleased to announce a new working relationship with Spanish artist Jordi Labanda. FIG will be Labanda’s primary dealer in bringing his works in gouache on paper to market worldwide.

Other than through ‘Violets are Blue’ (FIG Auction 4), Labanda hasn’t sold a single piece of work from his studio since his career began in 1993 so there is a breathtaking body of brilliant pieces, including works made for Wallpaper, Visionaire and Vogue, to work with.

“We couldn’t be more excited”, said William Ling the Director and Founder of FIG. ‘It’s an honour to be given such a very special responsibilty”.

Jordi Labanda was born in Mercedes, Uruguay and has lived in Barcelona since the age of three. He studied industrial design and began to work as a commercial illustrator in 1993.

In 1995 he began to work widely with the international press, his work appearing in the The New York Times, Visionarie, Wallpaper*, Tatler, W and US Vogue. His corporate clients include Louis Vuitton, Knoll and American Express. He has exhibited in the, now closed, Parisian concept store Collette, has his own stationary range and has produced an eponymous sunglasses collection. He also contributes to La Vanguardia for the last twenty years and Vogue Nippon for the last ten years.

The works featured in our December 2019 Work Available offer belong to the series of works made for Vogue Nippon. They are illustrations of looks, clothes and accessories from houses including Gucci, Prada, Chanel, Valentino and Burberry.  Each work, in gouache on paper, is scanned and printed in the magazine, on occasions with a little bit of a backdrop added in photoshop or sometimes, without any retouching, just dropped in as they are.

The works represent the fashion illustrator’s raison d’être, to work consistently with one esteemed publication and the longevity of the project (9 years and counting) make the collection exceptionally collectable. We aren’t aware of any other comparable group of commissioned works that chronicle contemporary fashion and luxury with such detail and regularity.

Labanda is a master of his medium and his girls; cute, thin, groomed, glamorous, without blemish or fault and with a doll like, kawaii quality make for perfect mannequins.