Meet the Swedish illustrator loved by Lady Gaga and fashion’s biggest names

There's nothing wishy-washy about going all in on a single shade. Instead, it's a signal of commitment and confidence, establishing an entire mood in a single glance. An enduring theme that’s at once powerful and classic, monochromatic ensembles create an unbroken line that elongates and polishes, giving the wearer the illusion of height. Depending on the colour, it can also convey emotion, whether electric and optimistic or serene and sedated.

We’ve seen such statements made throughout history. In the first part of the 20th century, the image of a well-dressed woman was an ensemble that monochromatically aligned from top to bottom. The shoes matched the bag, which matched the dress, which matched the hat — colour coordination from top to toe.

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It's a theme explored by Swedish illustrator Amelie Hegardt for this editorial. Her distinct illustrations are expressive, an interpretation of real life rather than a replication, with the softness of watercolour infusing her work with an ethereal quality. Translucent pastels made with watered-down gouache mix with stark lines of black ink. It's a style that has attracted the attention of celebrities, leading fashion brands and even the New York City Ballet. Despite her accolades and impressive past, “when Vogue Scandinavia got in touch, I couldn't help but feel excited,” she says.

Hegardt came “late” to the illustration game. “It took me a while to realise that this was a potential career,” she says. Growing up in Lund in the south of Sweden, Hegardt found the concept of a career creating beautiful fashion imagery far-fetched. But when life led her to France, depositing her in Paris for a year, Hegardt moved in circles where art and design were constantly present. “I think a seed was planted there,” she says.

Hegardt later studied at Central Saint Martins, one of the fashion industry's most prestigious institutions, before moving to New York, where she began her career. Her first job was an editorial story for a newspaper called Black Book. “I remember they wrote a little text about me where they called me a ‘Swedish New Yorker ’,” she says. “Which was generous as I had barely lived there for six months.”

A self-described “commercial artist”, Hegardt has honed her craft in the world's foremost fashion capitals, with her illustrious career taking her from Sweden to Paris, Milan, New York, Beijing, Tokyo, and London. Today she lives in Lisbon, Portugal's much more “laid-back” capital.

When discussing some of the highlights from her glittering career, Hegardt doesn’t even mention working with Lady Gaga in New York. Instead, the artist brings up her work as a lecturer at Central Saint Martins and London College of Fashion at the University of the Arts London. “It was hard work, but I loved it ,” she says. She pinpoints life drawing as the "beating heart" of her practice. “It's what makes an illustration come to life, and a key aspect I've seen my students discover time and time again.”

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Accord ing to Hegardt, her mode of working today can be described as “regulated chaos”. “I think the most common myth is that illustration work ‘looks easy’,” she says. “Of course, sometimes an idea can come out exactly how I've imagined it, but most of the time, that's not the case.” She describes the process as a “one in a million chance,” with the result dependent on drawing and redrawing.

“Sometimes it takes 30 seconds. But most of the time, it doesn't. It requires a big amount of discipline,” she says. “Sometimes, when I walk to the studio, I feel nervous. But I think that's a good sign. It is a signal that I care about what I do.” Life drawing is a skill Hegardt drew on for this editorial. “One of the looks, the Victoria Beckham one, is just a straight up-and-down runway illustration,” she notes. The look is simple: a cropped draped sleeveless top and pencil skirt. The impact, however, is in the choice of colour. A single shade of lilac continued throughout the ensemble, from clutch to shoe. “It was an incredibly satisfying look to illustrate,” says Hegardt. “It was one of those instances where things fell into place. It didn't require much.”

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Hegardt finds larger, more dramatic shapes easier to interpret in her illustrations. However, finding the right way to translate these monochromatic silhouettes was a balancing act. “What I found unifying was the red thread, the mood that united the different designers and their looks. It was an air of 1990s minimalism,” she says. “Somehow, these illustrations just fit together in my mind.” Through the eye of Hegardt, Givenchy's acid green creation – worn with matching pointed buckle pumps on the runway – comes off as muted, the dress stretching and curving along the model as she walks.

“It was a struggle to get this look just right,” says Hegardt. “It took a lot of tries to achieve the right femininity.” Taking the concept of a single colour beyond a paired-up two-piece, the sleeves of the floor-length ruched gown end in gloves and, as such, cover as much as possible in this particular pistachio tint. “I think there's a quiet appeal to it,” says Hegardt. “It was the most satisfying out of all the looks to get right.”

There's a reason we're going monocrazy at the moment. It's a statement, a sense of presence that can only be conveyed by a single shade. There's an undeniable ease when dressing in a single colour. When wearing the same shade throughout, the result suggests forethought without fussiness — a balance of effort and effortlessness. As our Editor-in-Chief Martina Bonnier puts it: "It’s the most elegant statement ever."