Fashion Illustrator Fernando R. Flores, 66
Fashion illustrator Fernando R. Flores died of cancer on June 26 at the age of 66.
Flores was a prolific illustrator whose work appeared in many publications in the 1960s and ’70s, including California Apparel News, the Los Angeles Times and Women’s Wear Daily, as well as fashion magazines such as the French editions of Elle and Marie Claire and the Mexico edition of Vogue.
Known as a personable and charming character, Flores was born in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and raised in Chihuahua before immigrating to the United States in his late teens.
A temporary job as a holiday-season gift wrapper at May Co. in downtown Los Angeles proved to be Flores’ entreacute;e to the world of fashion illustration. After the holidays, he was hired to work in the stockroom and spent his breaks sketching on discarded boxes. A co-worker praised his work and brought it to the attention of the head of the department store’s advertising department, who promised Flores a job if he attended art school. While attending the Art Center College of Design at night, Flores worked his way up at May Co., taking positions as a window dresser, then paste-up artist, then full-time staff artist.
Flores married Bonnie Freeman in 1971, and their son, Brandon, was born in 1975. Flores and Freeman divorced in 1976, and six years later, Flores met Alejandro “Alex” Robles, who became his life partner. The two exchanged commitment vows in 1984.
Flores retired from fashion illustration in the mid-1990s and took up a second career as a medical interpreter, translating for a non-Spanish-speaking doctor and her Spanish-speaking patients.
In later years, Flores suffered from idiopathic polymyositis, a degenerative disorder that eventually led to the loss of the use of his hands.
He was preceded in death by his sister, Martha, and is survived by Robles; his mother, Esperanza Flores; son Brandon; daughter-in-law Mikki; and grandsons Orion and Zevon.
A memorial service for Flores is planned for 1 p.m. on July 22 at The Little Brown Church in Long Beach, Calif. For more information, contact the church at (562) 436-9707.—Alison A. Nieder
