Marie Claire, Kate Middleton (Photo : Marie Claire South Africa)

Kate Middleton is one of the most sought after fashionistas of our time. The royal dame has graced many magazine covers but it's always images of her out and about, never a real photoshoot spread. Many publications, including American and British Vogue, have tried to cover the young duchess but never succeeded. Marie Claire South Africa took an innovative route in being the first magazine to have an original "shot" of Middleton, they used illustration.

"We were so inspired by her fairytale wedding and her life as a modern-day princess, which is why we elected Kate Middleton as our cover star for the August issue. She's wearing local designer Clive Rundle on the cover But upon closer inspection, the cover is - much like her life - more fantasy than reality. The cover is actually a hyper-real illustration of Kate, meant to be a fan art tribute to fashion's new royal icon," Marie Claire South Africa stated about their current issues on stands now.

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The headline reads "Fashion's new royal icon wears SA's best local designs" and at the bottom amusingly says "Of course she doesn't. But she should."

This isn't the first time Middleton has been digitally altered. Photos of her and Prince William on their honeymoon surfaced the web but were claimed to be photoshopped. Also, Grazia has admitted to photoshopping the bridal photo of Middleton and The New Republic transformed the duchess' perfect white smile into a tainted rotten grin.

It's almost as if Kate Middleton doesn't exist, like she is a figment of the media's imagination. Perhaps all of this "artistry" will encourage her to do a real shoot for a reputable magazine.

Would you accept hyper-illustration as the new form of cover models?