Joe Eula, 79; Fashion Illustrator Worked With Major Designers

Joe Eula, 79, a New York fashion illustrator whose vibrant sketches captured the work of Halston, Yves Saint Laurent and other designers for more than half a century, died Wednesday in Kingston, N.Y., after being hospitalized for pneumonia and a bad reaction to chemotherapy.

Eula, whose early illustrations accompanied fashion columns in the New York Herald Tribune and the London Sunday Times in the 1950s, later worked extensively with Halston -- as well as fashion houses such as Chanel, Givenchy, Versace and Yves Saint Laurent.

“I was considered the fastest pencil in the field; a mannequin need only do her turn down the catwalk at a fashion show, and voila: an illustration,” Eula once said.

He contributed numerous illustrations for American Vogue, had long associations with Italian and French Harper’s Bazaar, and created album covers and concert posters for Miles Davis, Liza Minnelli, the Supremes and other performers.

Eula also designed sets and costumes for the New York City Ballet, won a Tony award for his work on the Broadway production of “Private Lives” in 1968 and directed TV fashion specials for Lauren Bacall -- as well as designing a line of china for Tiffany & Co. and the logo for Studio 54, the legendary Manhattan club.

Born in Norwalk, Conn., Eula served in the 10th Mountain Division in Italy during World War II. While a student at the Art Students League in Manhattan after the war, he had illustrations published in Town & Country magazine and did drawings for Saks Fifth Avenue.