Harpers Bazaar, October 2012

A FASHIONABLE LIFE The lounge, looking out to the terrace.

Megan HESS

egan Hess’s rooftop apartment in the bayside suburb of Port Melbourne is as pretty as a picture — appropriately, given that Hess is a talented illustrator who drafts by hand (a rare skill in today’s digitally animated age), and who has forged a hugely successful career from her fashion-themed work she says “usually involves an architectural background with a chic lady in the foreground”. They say life imitates art, and in this case it has played out in storybook perfection.

Today, the stylish 36-year-old takes the lead, while her husband (and director of Plus Architecture), Craig Yelland, is backstage with the couple’s children — Gwyn, five, and Will, one.

The easygoing pair has been together “forever”, a fairytale romance that began 86

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at university in Queensland and led to a three-year stint in London where Hess worked for the who’s who of the English design world: Liberty of London, the Museum of London, the V&A museum and Savile Row tailors Gieves & Hawkes.

A modest shelf in Hess’s impeccable home displays her professional pièce de résistance, the covers she designed for Candace Bushnell’s Sex and the City and other novels. This was a watershed moment in her career, and led to a string of runway collection illustrations for the likes of Chanel, Christian Dior, Marc Jacobs, Valentino, Fendi and Guerlain.

International work for NBC, Touchstone Pictures, Time magazine and portraiture for Vanity Fair magazine ensued.

To date, one of her biggest clients is iconic American retailer Bloomingdale’s, which commissioned her to create a

CREDIT

The fashion illustrator brings a touch of Manhattan to Melbourne in her family’s artful abode.

BY CARLI PHILIPS. PHOTOGRAPHED BY NICK WATT

The bathroom is decorated with opulent wallpaper and covetable toiletries.

Megan Hess wearing Carla Zampatti dress; Tiffany & Co. necklace and bracelets (worn throughout).

STYLED BY REBECCA CARATTI

A Greek goddess statue adds a classical touch to the urbane rooftop terrace.

Hess’s sketches are inspired by vintage fashion photographs and illustrations.

large, detailed drawing of their Art Deco flagship New York store. Recently, she completed her dream project: a work on canvas depicting Tiffany & Co.’s famous 5th Avenue shopfront. With the majority of her clients now based in New York, Hess makes at least two trips there annually and is greatly inspired by Manhattan’s urban lifestyle.

“Many of the rooftop apartments and bars over there have an intimate, private feeling even though they’re right in the middle of a huge city. We wanted our [Melbourne] apartment to reflect that too. I like the feeling of being in your own little world up top but then you can also just jump in the lift and be down on the bustling street in an instant.”

The secluded rooftop terrace, which is accessible from the main living area, has views stretching across the metropolis,

yet it’s surprisingly peaceful — “formal but cosy and inviting at the same time”.

A Greek goddess statue and perfectly pruned box hedge impart an element of decorum, yet the sunbather banquette and barbecue soften the mood.

The couple has always lived in multiresidential blocks but when they first saw this converted church it was nothing more than a bachelor’s pad. “It had old blue carpet and a very bad floor plan,” recalls Hess. “It was uncomfortably big as one huge open space with nothing more than a massive stereo system in the corner and one chair,” she says incredulously. Although they knew it needed a lot of work, Hess and Yelland loved the location and saw its potential immediately. The DIY project was a labour of love for the twosome, who spent an arduous 12 months on renovations. www.harpersbazaar.com.au

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A FASHIONABLE LIFE

Coffee-table tomes and Pantone palettes serve as inspiration tools.

“We’re very much a team that complements one another’s creative talents and strengths,” says Yelland, who left the interior design scheme in the very capable hands of his wife while he spearheaded the transformation — designing and refurbishing everything himself, spending dust-filled days constructing floors, knocking out walls and building furniture. The result of this “incredibly rewarding” experience was the couple’s elegant four-bedroom, three-bathroom inner-city terrace.

It’s a flawlessly styled space, with all personal effects out of sight — it’s remarkable that two small children also share it. “Ours is a kid-friendly, lowmaintenance home,” maintains a relaxed Yelland as daughter Gwyn, in a white Collette Dinnigan Enfant dress, politely helps herself to a Danish pastry.

Up close, some of the home’s secrets are revealed. Printed kitchen splashbacks (a manipulated 16th-century etching of a ball at Versailles) disguise cooking marks, while textured black-gloss pressed metal cabinets minimise “tiny peanut butter fingerprints”. Porcelain floors are raised to hide plumbing, baroque frames conceal medicine cabinets and slat beds lift for extra storage. A flush-tiled bathroom wall provides the unexpected facade for ensuite access.

“We love all the secret doors because it enables us to put everything we use — but don’t want to see — out of sight, maximising space and leaving the room looking and feeling uncluttered and spacious,” explains Hess, who credits this clever functionality to her husband’s design ingenuity.

From left: Megan, in Chanel dress; daughter Gwyn, in Collette Dinnigan Enfant dress; husband Craig; and son Will, in Ralph Lauren shirt and pants, flanked by Megan’s artwork.

There’s a distinctly feminine feel to the interior, an almost Charlotte York meets Coco-Chanel-at-the-Ritz sensibility.

It’s a blend of romantic classicism and glamorous modernism, from the Victoriana armchair to the custom-built white quartz stone credenza (topped

yet there’s a fresh, elegant aesthetic complemented by a sophisticated palette of black and white fused with whips of cream and glittering champagne.

The only room that contrasts with these neutral tones is a Tiffany-blue feature wall in Hess’s home office. “I work with quite strong colour and patterns in my illustrations so I have purposely given my studio a different colour feel in order to visually separate it from the rest of the apartment.

I like to be able to shut the door at the end of the day and feel like I’ve left work.”

“Growing up, I was always very fascinated with vintage fashion photos and illustrations,” says Hess. “I just think women are a powerful and beautiful subject to draw and I will never tire of it as the focus for my work.” Amen to that.

“Growing up I was always very fascinated with vintage fashion photos and illustrations.”

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with a collectable Timothy Richards architectural plaster model and a silver cast pineapple), to the leather chesterfield and Eames Eiffel chairs surrounding the chrome-rimmed dining room table.

Velvet cushions and luxurious drapes accessorise the open-plan living area,

The colour-coded walk-in wardrobe includes a classic Chanel 2.55 bag and (above) dazzling designer shoes.

STYLED BY REBECCA CARATTI. HAIR & MAKEUP BY GREER MELROSE

Coffee table tomes and Pantone palettes serve as inspiration tools

Images of fashion icons such as Audrey Hepburn adorn the walls, while custom-made cushions feature Hess’s artistry.

The illustrator, wearing Collette Dinnigan top and pants, in her home office.

www.harpersbazaar.com.au

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