Fashion Illustrator Megan Hess On Her New Book

From delicate couture creations to pop culture moments (think Kate Hudson's yellow gown from How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days), Hess's new book is a 220-page ode to dresses.

MC: How did the book come about?
MH: I have always wanted to do a book about iconic dresses. [I wanted to explore] the idea of what makes a dress really unique and special.

MC: Why dresses?
MH: I'm such a girly girl. Everything from really feminine dresses to something that's black and structured. I love that they vary so much in how they look and what they project.

MC: How did you choose what dresses to feature?
MH: It came down to a mixture of grand show stoppers and others that were never destined for greatness, dresses that almost never happened or became iconic because of the moment, or the woman wearing it.

MC: How did you draw each image?
MH: I do all the black and white line work with a custom Montblanc pen. Then I use washes, pencils and, in some instances, actual fabric for the colour. For one dress, I found pink sequins, scanned them, printed and then redrew them. It was painstaking, but I really tried to be as true as I possibly could to the real dresses.

MC: Do you have any favourite dresses from the book?
MH: Michelle Pfeiffer in that beautiful, plunging sequinned dress that she wore in Scarface. Something about her attitude; you just never forget that dress after seeing it.

MC: And what about in your own wardrobe?
MH: I really like vintage dresses. I'm always on the hunt for something that's a little bit unique. It's a bit like finding gold when you find something good.

The Dress: 100 Iconic Moments in Fashion by Megan Hess (Hardie Grant, $29.95) is out now.