Fernando Flores, 66; his fashion illustrations wore a Latin look

Fernando Flores, 66, whose fashion illustrations with their distinct Latin flavor appeared in The Times, Women’s Wear Daily, the Apparel News and several leading fashion magazines, died June 26, according to Elizabeth Robinson-Williams, a friend. The causes were cancer and complications from idiopathic polymyositis, a degenerative muscle disease, Robinson-Williams said.

Flores began his illustrating career in the 1960s in the advertising department of the now-defunct May Co. department store in Los Angeles. He became a freelance illustrator known for his strong, vigorous style.

His drawings appeared in ads as well as in such fashion magazines as Paris Elle, Marie-Claire and Vogue Mexico. For almost 20 years starting in the early 1970s, Flores illustrated Clotheslines, a syndicated fashion column written by then-Times fashion editor Marylou Luther.

He worked with models of every ethnic background but saw them all from his point of view. “The women that I draw ... go through my mind and come out with a Latin look ... sensual and elegant,” Flores said of his artistic style in a 1988 interview with Hispanic Entrepreneur magazine.

Flores was born June 8, 1941, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. He moved to Los Angeles as a teenager and became a U.S. citizen. By the early 1990s, fashion illustration had been all but replaced by photography. Flores became a medical interpreter, translating Spanish to English and vice versa for patients and doctors. For the last seven years he had limited physical mobility but kept up his drawing until about a year ago.