Press & Editorial
Press, Publications & Editorial Features
Sonya Parra is a London-based fashion illustrator, live event illustrator and experiential artist whose work has appeared in fashion, art, design and marketing publications. Her press history spans fashion illustration, live digital drawing, London Fashion Week, luxury brand events and innovative experiential marketing campaigns.
With more than 25 years of experience as an event artist and a specialism in fashion illustration, Sonya’s published work documents her creative practice across traditional and digital illustration, live guest portraits, audience participation and interactive brand activations.
Selected press coverage and editorial features documenting Sonya Parra’s work as a fashion illustrator and live event illustrator, including luxury brand activations, guest portrait illustration and fashion illustration.
La moda pinta más que nunca
Fashion Is More Important Than Ever
In 2015, Sonya Parra was featured in S Moda / EL PAÍS in the editorial La moda pinta más que nunca (“Fashion Is More Important Than Ever”), published on 2 August 2015.
The feature discusses contemporary fashion illustration and includes Sonya Parra alongside established fashion illustrators including David Downton and Megan Hess.
The article provides independent editorial coverage of Sonya Parra’s work as a fashion illustrator and places her within the wider contemporary fashion illustration field.
Publication: S Moda / EL PAÍS
Date: 2 August 2015
Title: La moda pinta más que nunca (“Fashion Is More Important Than Ever”)
S Moda / EL PAÍS — 2015
SIN Magazine — Primavera 2015
Conoce a Sonya Parra
Meet Sonya Parra
In 2015, Sonya Parra was featured in SIN Magazine in a 15-page editorial covering her career and work as a fashion illustrator.
The Spanish-language feature appears on pages 52–66 and includes examples of her fashion illustrations.
Publication: SIN Magazine
Issue: Primavera 2015
Date: 1 April 2015
Pages: 52–66
Arte y tendencias: los mejores ilustradores de moda
Art and Trends: The Best Fashion Illustrators
In 2015, Sonya Parra was featured by Vanidad alongside internationally recognised fashion illustrators including Arturo Elena, Hayden Williams and Katie Rodgers.
The feature places Sonya’s fashion illustration work within a wider editorial selection of contemporary fashion illustrators and provides independent coverage of her work during this period.
Publication: Vanidad
Date: 27 July 2015
Vanidad — 27 July 2015
Client Acquisition Tips from 11 Freelance Design Experts
In 2015, Sonya Parra was featured by Vandelay Design alongside 10 other established freelance designers and illustrators, sharing advice on finding clients and building a sustainable creative business.
In the feature, Sonya discusses her experience of finding and developing client relationships as a freelance illustrator, including building visibility, maintaining an online presence and developing opportunities through professional networks.
The article provides third-party editorial coverage of Sonya Parra’s professional career as a freelance illustrator and her experience of developing a creative business.
Publication: Vandelay Design
Date: 8 July 2015
Feature: 11 freelance design experts on client acquisition
Vandelay Design — 8 July 2015
London Fashion Week през погледа на художничката Соня Пара
London Fashion Week Through the Eyes of Artist Sonya Parra
In 2014, eModno featured Sonya Parra in an editorial about her work as a fashion illustrator at London Fashion Week for Samsung at Somerset House.
The feature documents Sonya’s live fashion illustration, sketching VIP guests, fashion editors, journalists, bloggers, stylists, photographers, celebrities and other guests during London Fashion Week. It also highlights her earlier work as a digital illustrator for Samsung at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, including the creation of official Olympic T-shirts.
The article provides independent editorial evidence of Sonya Parra’s early work in live fashion illustration, event illustration, digital illustration and brand activations.
Publication: eModno
Date: 10 March 2014
Author: Delitsa Tsoneva
Feature: London Fashion Week Through the Eyes of Artist Sonya Parra
eModno — 10 March 2014
Further list below
Nokia Lumia 630 #100aires — Press Coverage, 2014
In July 2014, Sonya participated in Nokia Lumia 630’s #100aires social-currency art project at The Old Truman Brewery in East London. The campaign brought together original artwork, social media participation and audience engagement, exploring how online influence could be used as a form of currency.
Sonya’s contribution included the interactive #SketchBooth, where visitors submitted photographs through social media and received surprise portraits drawn by Sonya unseen inside a concealed booth. The finished illustrations were passed through a small letterbox, turning live drawing into an unexpected, participatory experience.
She also exhibited her original illustration Shutter Moment, which sold on the exhibition’s opening day.
The project connected live illustration, performance, original artwork and social-media-led experiential marketing.
Dazed Digital — 2 July 2014
“You can now buy one-off art with your social media currency”
Coverage of the #100aires campaign, which allowed participants to use their social media influence to bid for original artworks. The article documents the wider project in which Sonya contributed through the #SketchBooth and exhibited Shutter Moment.
T3 — 5 July 2014
“Enter Nokia’s social currency powered art gallery”
Technology publication T3 covered Nokia’s #100aires social-currency art-gallery activation, combining original artwork, digital participation and audience engagement.
Sonya’s involvement included the interactive #SketchBooth and her exhibited illustration Shutter Moment.
Dazed Digital — 9 July 2014
“What happens when art and social media join forces?”
Dazed Digital’s photographic coverage of the #100aires project explores the intersection of art, social media and audience participation. Its image gallery includes Sonya’s Shutter Moment and documents the wider creative activation.
The Drum — 20 August 2014
“The social currency: Should brands give gifts for favourable tweets and posts?”
Written by Rupa Ganatra, this marketing-industry article examines social currency, influencer marketing and the use of social media engagement in brand campaigns. It discusses Nokia’s #100aires activation, providing wider industry context for Sonya’s contribution to the project through interactive live illustration.
*Additional press coverage of the #100aires campaign is listed below.
London Journal — 14 July 2025
“Sonya Parra Celebrates 25 Years of Exquisite Artistry as the Foremost Live Event Fashion Illustrator”
A feature marking Sonya Parra’s 25-year career milestone, covering her work as a live event fashion illustrator, her collaborations with established brands and her role in creating bespoke artistic experiences for luxury events.
The Avenue / Boux Avenue — 29 August 2019
“Exclusive Access: AW19 Rewriting The Rules Event”
Brand editorial coverage of a live event featuring Sonya’s personalised watercolour fashion illustrations. The feature showcases her work as a fashion illustrator creating hand-drawn guest portraits and memorable, individually commissioned event keepsakes.
Additional Publication Archive
Sonya’s wider publication history also includes features and mentions in Stylabl, Art and Sound, Hot Penguin, Design Juices, The Home Theory, Business Boom Collective and Des Arts.
This archive brings together coverage of her work as a fashion illustrator, live event artist and independent illustrator, from early editorial features to more recent coverage of luxury events and experiential illustration.
Enquiries
For press enquiries, editorial commissions, interviews and collaborations involving fashion illustration, live event illustration or experiential brand activations, please use the contact page.
*Additional Coverage of the #100aires Campaign
The #100aires campaign attracted further coverage across marketing, technology, design and culture publications. The following articles explore the wider campaign, its creative participants and its use of social currency.
VICE — 4 July 2014
“Viral Style: IRL ‘Clueless’ Wardrobe Technology, eBae, and Social Media Model Casting”
VICE featured Nokia Lumia 630’s #100aires pop-up at The Old Truman Brewery, highlighting its use of social media influence as currency for acquiring exclusive artwork and customised technology.
The Future Laboratory — 17 July 2014
“Work of art: Nokia lets social networkers ‘pay’ for art with social currency”
The Future Laboratory covered Nokia’s #100aires campaign, examining how social media influence could be used as currency to acquire original artwork. The article provides further context for the campaign’s experimental approach to retail, social engagement and creative participation.
Realtime Report — 9 September 2014
“Tweet, Pay, Love: The Modern-Day Social Media Pop-up”
Realtime Report explored the emerging use of social media activity as currency in pop-up retail experiences. Its coverage of the #100aires concept adds a further perspective on the relationship between social influence, brand activation and alternative payment models.
London Bangla / East London News — 28 June 2014
“#100aires Art Exhibition”
Published ahead of the exhibition, this announcement outlined Microsoft Mobile’s #100aires campaign for the launch of the Nokia Lumia 630. The pop-up exhibition, held at The Old Truman Brewery in Shoreditch from 2–6 July 2014, introduced an alternative retail concept in which visitors could use social currency based on their Klout scores to bid for original artwork.
The announcement provides contemporary evidence of the campaign’s dates, venue and social-media-led approach to experiential retail.
Read the coverage: London Bangla | East London News
Mission — 14 July 2014
“Nokia Lumia 630 #100aires pop-up”
Experiential marketing agency Mission documented the campaign’s mechanics, including the 100 artworks valued in social currency using Klout scores and the social media sharing process through which visitors registered their bids.
Protein — 22 July 2014
“#100aires”
Creative-industry publication Protein examined Nokia’s collaboration with Klout to commission 100 young creatives under the brief “No Compromises”. The article explores the relationship between original art, digital popularity and social-media-powered retail.
Mobile Marketing Magazine — 2014
“Spotlight: Microsoft’s #100aires Pay-by-Tweet Gallery”
Mobile Marketing Magazine covered the #100aires pay-by-tweet gallery, providing further marketing-industry context for Nokia Lumia 630’s use of social currency, online engagement and experiential retail.
stupidDOPE — July 2014
“100aires Pop-Up Store: Where Social Influence …”
stupidDOPE shared coverage of the #100aires pop-up, highlighting the campaign’s concept of using social influence to obtain exclusive artwork rather than paying with conventional currency.
Last updated: 30 October 2026
Get In Touch
hello@sonyaparra.com
© 2026 Sonya Parra
+44 7495985164