Debsey Wykes at The Betsey Trotwood Painting

Gemma O’Brien is a London-based illustrator and clothes-maker. A Central Saint Martin’s College of Art graduate, she studied Fashion Communication and Promotion. Her early career saw her work at Vivienne Westwood, Tank and SHOWstudio. In May 2022, she was invited to submit fashion illustrations during the SHOWstudio x V Magazine interactive fashion shoot featuring model Georgia Palmer. In the previous year, she also created a set of fashion illustrations covering Milan Men’s Fashion Week ’21 for SHOWstudio. In July 2022, Gemma exhibited a painting of legendary avant-garde performance artist David Hoyle as part of We Are Sweet Art’s Free for All exhibition in London’s Art Bypass Gallery. Gemma’s work is inspired by individuals who actively challenge convention both in the fashion world and the every day, working in various media including ink, acrylic and pen. By drawing upon embroidery techniques and garment construction, she often uses fabric as her canvas.