‘Even at school, I remember sketching what my designer area in Liberty would look like – with my name, the logo and the garments,’ says the artist Clym Evernden. ‘I love creating art, but I always liked the idea of something you can wear – something physical.’

We’re chatting at his home and studio near Brick Lane – a bright, fifth-floor flat that overlooks half of London. It’s an appropriately airy backdrop to his work, which is full of light, colour and movement.

With a father who’s an illustrator and a mother who’s a painter, Evernden was surrounded by creativity from birth. After a degree in English and Fine Art, his interest in fashion took him to Central St Martins, where he did a BA in Womenswear and began to hone his skills as an illustrator.

There were early signs that his work would capture the imagination of the fashion industry. As a student he printed his work onto a few T-shirts, walked around Soho and succeeded in getting them placed in several shops – where they were spotted by someone from Vogue, who featured them in the magazine. ‘The T-shirts were printed with illustrations of aeroplanes and vapour trails, so they called the story “High Art”,’ he remembers. ‘Suddenly people at college were saying “Oh, I saw you in Vogue.”’

It was a sign of things to come; today, Evernden’s work holds immediate appeal for those in the fashion industry. His illustrations show style in motion, whether his focus is a model walking down a catwalk, or an editor sipping champagne at a party. In recent years, he’s put the idea of launching a product line on hold, and is concentrating for the time being on pure illustration work. He’s become a familiar face at fashion shows, and is increasingly in demand with magazines, designer brands and event organisers, who book him to observe guests and produce live sketches.

At fashion week, his work attracts plenty of attention – it’s hard to hide your curiosity when you spot someone producing artwork as the show unfolds. ‘If I’m in the front row it can get a bit intimidating – people tend to really stare at what I’m doing, watching my every line, so the pressure’s on,’ he says. ‘But it’s nice, because afterwards they’ll often ask to see more of my work.’ The designers themselves are equally keen to see his interpretations of their collections, and encounters at fashion week have led to him being asked to work on several projects for brands. He has particularly strong relationships with Nicole Farhi, Jasper Conran and Paul Smith.

In the future, he’d like to be known for more than just his fashion illustrations – he tells me that he loves ‘observing people – they don’t have to be models’ and he’s also very inspired by drawing dancers. For him, the world of ballet isn’t a million miles from the world of the fashion show: ‘I’d like to illustrate at the theatre, backstage when the dancers are standing in the wings. I also love being backstage at fashion week – it’s that contrast between performing, and then coming off and being relaxed and contemplative.’

Contemplative is a good word to describe Evernden himself, who feeds his creativity by bird-watching, listening to music and taking ballet classes. So it’s not difficult to imagine that in the future, he’ll be known for producing other kinds of art – though the fact that he started with fashion can only be good news for us.

Click the gallery to see Clym's work, studio space, inspirations and favourite places, or click the images below to skip ahead to a section