Mexican-born Alfredo Bouret (1926-2018) was one of fashion’s acclaimed illustrators. Born Alfredo Gonzalez Acevez in 1926, Bouret won a drawing competition in 1947 and left Mexico for Paris, briefly working as an apprentice designer for Pierre Balmain. From 1948 until 1962 his illustrations appeared in the pages of French and British Vogue. His role was to visit the couture houses of Paris, such as Chanel, Dior, Pierre Cardin and Balenciaga, and make sketches of their latest collections. Bouret was the only illustrator permitted into Balenciaga’s Paris couture house to view and illustrate his collections.

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