It is your style

From Chanel to Vogue and now Lancôme: Meet the Australian illustrator at the top of the fashion world with her elegant watercolours inspired by Grace Kelly

Chanel, Vogue, Louis Vuitton, Kate Spade and Collete Dinnigan are all iconic brands that anyone working in the fashion industry would be proud to add to their portfolio.

Kerrie Hess has worked with all of them, and many more. Her latest collaboration is with cult French beauty brand Lancôme Paris, in honour of their 80th anniversary.

The internationally acclaimed illustrator has been passionate about painting since she was a child, but it wasn't until her late teenage years she began to seriously consider it as a career path.

Specialising in fashion illustration in a form that she describes as 'intuitive watercolour' Kerrie's artworks are a stunning base of black and white, which often feature a single pop of colour.

'When I first started about 17 years ago I was using more calligraphy pens and digital work on the computer, but about ten years ago, I made the move to paints and brushes instead of pens and computer and I much prefer this approach now,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'I have loved moving away from digital work and it feels more authentic but it has been a nice progression.

'Plus I like to spend as little time on a computer as possible,' she added.

'I am so much happier in a mess of brushes and paints. I also like to leave out a few details so you have to fill them in with your eyes.'

Kerrie was born in Australia but has lived in Paris, where she draws much of her influence from. Her illustrations have a very Parisian feel to them featuring elegant women in flowing dresses against stunning backdrops.

'There is so much to love about Paris. I adored all of the attention to detail when I lived in this city,' she revealed.

'The architecture, patisseries, gold gilded cafe chairs, and even the beautiful way that flowers are wrapped from all of the little corner flower shops,' Kerrie continued.

The illustrator also said much of her inspiration comes from Hollywood style icons Grace Kelly and Alfred Hitchcock.

'I find that both Grace Kelly and Alfred Hitchcock are influential characters in my drawings and I find that I do have a bit of an obsession with their style - I grew up on Hitchcock and Fred Astaire movies while other kids my age were watching Footloose!,' Kerrie revealed.

'I also adore the visual styling of Grace Coddington and the vintage illustrations of Rene Gruau.'

Kerrie has had billboards with her artwork erected in Paris for Printemps Department store, has exhibited her work in Dali’s former ballroom in Paris at Le Meurice Hotel, and has illustrated the cover of Harper’s Bazaar Australia with Collette Dinnigan.

She took part in a global collaboration with Louis Vuitton Paris last year, and her watercolours have also been splashed across the windows of Harrod's department store in London.

But aside from the phenomenally successful corporate work, the Australian woman also creates custom prints for a more personal touch in the home.

'Releasing my limited edition fashion prints too is always a highlight for me also, as they end up in peoples homes, and to me this is just as satisfying as seeing my work on a billboard in Paris, Kerrie admitted.

'One of my recent prints sold out in just over 3 minutes from going online,' she added.

Kerrie described her latest collaboration with Lancôme as a 'perfect match' and said the creative licence the brand gave her allowed her to create some of her best work.

'As my illustration aesthetic is very French, all about couture, beauty and Paris, we were a perfect match,' Kerrie said.

'I love the sense of history of the Lancôme brand and have always used the products myself. It was also really wonderful as an artist to be given a lot of creative licence from Lancôme.

'I always feel that I do my best work when this is the case. And with that trust I wanted very much to create really beautiful images to represent a brand that I personally admire,' she continued.

The images are to be paired with a series of Lancôme Grandiôse makeup sets and limited edition cosmetic bags, all showcasing Kerrie’s incredible illustrations.

Her hopes for the illustrations created for Lancôme is that people 'see a sense of wonder and beauty' and that the essence of Paris really shines through in the collaboration.

'I hope I have really captured the city of Paris in all of the images, Lancôme being so associated with the city of lights and made the products that we have collaborated on, ones that people will want to keep as much as use.'

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