FASHION IN THREE DIMENSIONS: ELOISE CORR DANCH ON MATERIAL MAGIC AND MAKING IT INTO FIDA

Eloise Corr Danch isn’t just illustrating fashion—she’s building it, sculpting it, teasing it into life with paper, paint, raffia, faux fur and whatever else her hands decide is necessary. For years she worked across different artistic worlds, known for her meticulous craftsmanship and love of elaborate, tactile detail. But two years ago, she made a quiet but decisive shift: fashion illustration became the priority. And that shift, she says, is exactly why this was the year she finally stepped into the FIDA Awards arena. “I’ve always wanted to join FIDA,” she tells us, with the ease of someone who’s thought about this more than once. “I’ve been a working artist for years, but two years ago I made illustration my priority. I’ve been steadily expanding this body of work, so this year I felt ready to finally apply.” It shows.

The pieces she chose to submit don’t just demonstrate skill—they show a kind of obsession, a commitment to interpreting designers’ looks through materials that behave, misbehave, and ultimately transform. “Since I’m making dimensional illustration, I wanted to show the range of materials I use,” she explains. “From the laboured cutting of fringey raffia for the Valentino couture gown to wrangling faux fur on a Marni dress, or manipulating paper to create volume and silhouette.”

It’s a bit punk, a bit couture, and completely her. Eloise talks about her process with the same energy as someone describing a deliciously chaotic studio: a place where stacks of runway images sit next to piles of sculpted paper and pots of gouache. “I’m exploring the use of three-dimensional mixed media in fashion illustration,” she says.

“I study a lot of runway looks, and the fun challenge—once I’ve found something I’m drawn to—is deciding what materials or techniques I can use to achieve it.” Sometimes that means sculpting paper until it behaves like taffeta or organza. Sometimes it means painting delicate prints or layering colour to mimic the exact tone of a fabric. Other times it gets more experimental—embroidering into paper, weaving it, shaping it in ways it absolutely wasn’t designed to be shaped.

“It’s really specific to each piece,” she says. “But anything goes. And in the end it’s a handmade, one-of-a-kind object of art.” Her work sits somewhere between illustration, set design and miniature couture—alive, dimensional and unmistakably hers. And as she steps into the FIDA spotlight, it’s clear she’s not just entering a competition; she’s carving out a lane, reshaping what fashion illustration can look like when you treat it as sculpture, craft and storytelling all at once.

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