Barbara Nessim at the V&A - in pictures

Birdlike Shoe, 1974. Nessim was once asked to design a shoe line after the president of Carber saw her sketches Photograph: Barbara Nessim

Color Veil, 1982-84. "I really was the first illustrator to work with computers," says Nessim. "I can't tell you how many people thought it was a fad." Photograph: Barbara Nessim

Dream Still, 2009. "I never feel blocked and I don't know why," says Nessim, who has been working for over 50 years. Photograph: Barbara Nessim

Fire Engine Heel, 1971 Photograph: Barbara Nessim

Lennon Remembered, 1988. The illustration was used on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine Photograph: Barbara Nessim

Love Letter / February 9, 2003. Nessim says that teenage heartbreak inspired her earliest work Photograph: Barbara Nessim

Ode To The Statue Of Liberty, 1981 - another example of Nessim's pioneering use of computer graphics Photograph: Barbara Nessim

Shoe sculpture, 1973. Nessim had an early enthusiasm for fashion. "I made all my own clothes, so I'd come to school in high heels, stockings, ready to go dancing." Photograph: Barbara Nessim

Star Girl Banded with Blue Wave, 1966 - a portrait of her then flatmate, pioneering feminist Gloria Steinman Photograph: Barbara Nessim

Superman and Girl, 1963 Photograph: Barbara Nessim

Woman in a green hat. Nessim says that women respond to her work more instinctively. "Men understand it later." Photograph: Barbara Nessim

Woman on a Hillside, 1991, commissioned for a Levi's campaign Photograph: Barbara Nessim