One of the most sought-after fashion illustrators in the world, Megan Hess, who has 16 best-selling books under her belt, made a surprise announcement while speaking to a packed audience at the 41st Sharjah International Book Fair at Expo Centre Sharjah.

The internationally acclaimed illustrator and author of Fashion House; Coco Chanel; Iconic: The Masters of Italian Fashion; and Claris: The Chicest Mouse in Paris, revealed for the first time that her next fashion biography would be on Grace Kelly, American actress and Princess of Monaco.

“The new book will be released next October,” said the Australian author, who started her illustrated fashion biography series with a book on Coco Chanel, and released a book on Audrey Hepburn last October.

Interestingly, though Hess’s enviable list of clients includes Louis Vuitton, Dior, Chanel, Cartier Vogue, Fendi, Prada amongst many other top luxury brands, she never wanted to be a fashion designer, admitted the illustrator.

“The discipline of being able to actually make and construct a garment is difficult. For me, I think I just loved capturing fashion. I loved drawing it. I loved escaping into the world of sketching,” she said.

Despite having a lucrative career as an illustrator, Hess decided to venture into writing only after she became a mother. “When I started reading books to my daughter, I craved something that had a fashion element to it but was also a character that had a very big heart and was courageous. I didn’t know then whether it would be a little girl or an animal and eventually, it was a mouse, and the book – Claris: The Chicest Mouse in Paris.”

An avid traveller, Hess draws her inspiration to keep working on the Claris series from cities she imagines the mouse visiting. “I think, will she be in Paris or will she go to Italy or New York and what could she do there that would be funny and make a fabulous story?”

So, what is the Australian author’s impression about the UAE? “The traditional Emirati fashion is so elegant. There are so many nationalities here, it is very multicultural and that makes it all very exciting, innovative and elegant,”