Brisbane based artist, Kerrie Hess has illustrated for some of the most well known brands and fashion houses from Tiffany & Co to Louis Vuitton. Before returning to her native Australia and settling down in Brisbane with her family, Kerrie traveled the world living in London, Hong Kong and of course, Paris.
Kerrie’s illustrations have been featured in Vogue and she’s illustrated everything from large scale work including fashion windows and billboards, to translating her work beyond the canvas to book covers, silks scarves and more.
In this interview Kerrie shares about her style icons, her favorite Australian fashion labels and gives us an inside look in the life of a fashion illustrator.
When you began your career as an artist, you started with calligraphy pens before switching to acrylics and watercolor. What do you enjoy most about working with these mediums?
I think I just enjoyed the feeling of brushes and paint more than pens and computers. I realized that I loved this process of creating art through old fashioned painting just as much as the finished product.
Your style icons are Grace Kelly & Audrey Hepburn, who I also consider to be my style icons as well. When did you first discover your love of fashion?
Well I grew up watching the films of Grace and Audrey (even though it was the 80s and 90’s!) And I think that classic sensibility just really made an impression. I also visited Paris with my parents when I was twelve and realised that my denim shorts and bomber jacket needed to be upgraded! I remember seeing girls just older than me in little black dresses and ballet flats. I think I fell in love with fashion on that trip!
What are some of the designer dresses that you have in your personal collection?
I only have one true couture dress outside of my wedding dress, which was made by my friend and designer George Wu. It’s pale nude pink with hand embroidered flowers and it’s most definitely the favourite in my wardrobe! Some other favourites are a peach cocktail dress by Marchesa, and a selection from Australian labels Zimmermann, Coco Ribbon and Scanlan Theodore. My favourite local labels.
You recently shared an inside look at your beautiful light filled studio in Brisbane. What is a typical day in the studio like, and what are some of the musicians/songs you’re listening to in the studio right now?
Well at the moment it’s a little more crazy in here with home schooling also going on with my son at home! But it’s a space I love and with pink being the signature colour of the brand, it’s a light filled space of white, grey, pink and gold. I usually start my day after school drop off with creativity in the morning, admin and emails in the afternoon as I am most definitely more creative and inspired early! We listen to a range of music in the office from Pink Martini to (sometimes) 50 Cent.
Rosette Noire, Dior Noir, Grace Kelly: Hitchcock Blonde and The Eyes are a few of my favorite pieces that you’ve created. Tell me about the piece that you’re currently working on.
Right now I am in the office deep diving into an Advanced version of my Online Masterclass in Painting. But a recent large original piece was for the sweet pink parlour ‘Peggy Porschen’ in London. It was a large painting of pink peonies.
You’ve worked with such well known fashion brands as Cartier, Tiffany & Co and Louis Vuitton to name a few. What is one of the first well-known brands that you worked with and tell me about the illustration(s) that you created for them.
A big one in my early career was Louis Vuitton. This was a global project, to create signature LV paper dolls. You could print out the dolls and outfits and mix and match them! It was such a fun project that led to a lot of others with luxury brands.
Before returning to Brisbane, you lived in Paris for eighteen months. What were some of the highlights from your time living in Paris?
I just loved all of the little details of living in Paris. The gold gilded cafe signs, packaging from the local bakery and florist and of course the buildings. I was constantly looking up while walking around the streets of Paris!
A few years ago you had a solo exhibition at the Le Meurice Hotel in Paris, where Picasso and Salvador Dali were once on exhibition. How did you feel the moment you found out you would be doing an exhibition there?
Terrified! And exited at the same time. But I always believe in saying yes to things that both excite and scare you! And this experience was most definitely one of those!
You worked together with The Langham, Melbourne to create the Kerrie Hess suite. What was it like creating a dream suite for guests to enjoy and what was the best part about experiencing the Kerrie Hess suite for yourself?
Oh my goodness yes, this was a dream collaboration. Langham Melbourne came to me with the idea and really let me create my dream suite. I wanted to create a light filled Paris Apartment. We even changed the flooring to pale parquet and updated all furniture, artwork and soft pale pink furniture. I stayed in the suite with a couple of girlfriends just before the world closed down with the current crisis. It was a magical experience.
You offer a watercolor class as well as a 12 week Masterclass that is perfect for both beginners and more experienced artists. What was the best part about creating the videos for the class and interacting with your students?
Yes, this is actually my favourite project to date (https://artcourses.kerriehess.com/courses). Whilst I love working with luxury brands, it’s just been so special for me to interact with those wanting to learn how to paint from home online and see their progress across the course. The 12 Week Masterclass is currently closed before opening soon, but we have just launched a lovely course for beginners in painting flowers in watercolor here: https://artcourses.kerriehess.com/p/painting-flowers-in-watercolor-for-beginners It’s a joyful self paced course for beginners that I am so excited to share.
During your career in fashion illustration, you’ve illustrated fashion windows, billboards, book covers, silk scarves, cushions and most recently in March of this year you shared the billboards you created for Chifley Sydney featuring the ready to wear collection Karen Gee. What is the best part about working on such a large scale project like the billboards for Chifley?
I think for any artist it’s lovely to see your work up in the real world on a large scale. I did a similar project for The Parisian Hotel in Macao a couple of years ago and it’s always a nice moment to see a project like that come to life and enjoy the end result.
Find out more at www.kerriehess.com and follow along via Instagram @kerriehessillustration and @studiokerriehess
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