PORTFOLIO · CREATIVE NOTEBOOK
A practice in beauty, form & presence
A living notebook of creative exercises, experiments and small acts of beauty. A place for fashion, colour, image, craftsmanship and the ideas that move through my hands before they become something tangible.
Sometimes there is a story. Sometimes there is only a colour, a line, a texture, an impulse worth following. Sometimes I simply want to share some beauty.
THE CREATIVE PRACTICE
Four ways into the notebook
Broad families rather than rigid boxes. A project may move between them as an idea becomes an image, a material, an object or a way of seeing.
Fashion & Making
Garments I have sewn, dressmaking studies, pattern cutting, toile development, alterations, transformations, embroidery, accessories and one-of-a-kind pieces. From the first line on paper to fabric, fitting and final construction.
Fashion Illustration & Art
Fashion figures, watercolours, drawings, paintings and visual studies. Silhouette, gesture, colour and atmosphere become exercises in style, observation and creative expression.
Image & Personal Branding
Moodboards, colour analysis, body shape and proportion studies, personal style explorations and visual identity concepts. A space to study how colour, form, clothing and presence communicate before a word is spoken.
Concepts & Process
Self-commissioned briefs, research, references, colour notes, materials, sketches, prototypes, development and realisation. The working pages behind a project: what sparked it, what changed and how an idea found its form.
OPTION A · CATEGORY-LED PORTFOLIO
Browse by creative practice
Fashion & Making
View selected work →
Fashion Illustration & Art
View selected work →
Image & Personal Branding
View selected work →
Concepts & Process
View selected work →
OPTION B · CURATED PROJECTS GRID
Selected exercises in beauty & expression
Keep this selective. Duplicate these cards until you have 8–12 pieces worth showing.
FASHION & MAKING
[Project title]
Designed and handmade by Elisa De Simone · One-of-a-kind piece · [Materials / technique]
View piece →
FASHION ILLUSTRATION & ART
[Project title]
Watercolour / graphite / mixed media · [Dimensions] · Personal study
View piece →
IMAGE & PERSONAL BRANDING
[Project title]
Colour story · Moodboard · Personal branding concept · [Short context]
View project →
CONCEPTS & PROCESS
[Self-commissioned brief]
Brief · Research · References · Materials · Sketches · Development · Realisation
Open notebook →
FASHION & MAKING
[Detail / technique]
Hand embroidery · Natural fibre · Detail study · [Technique]
View piece →
ART / COLOUR STUDY
[Colour / atmosphere study]
Watercolour / colour notes · [Dimensions] · An exercise in atmosphere and presence
View study →
THE CREATIVE NOTEBOOK
Not everything needs to become a product.
Some things exist because I wanted to understand a shape, try a colour combination, follow an intuition or make something beautiful with my hands. This portfolio is also a record of those exercises: fragments of an evolving creative language.
NOTES AND GUIDELINES FOR ELISA · DELETE BEFORE PUBLISHING
How to use this master portfolio
What belongs here
- Fashion & Making: sewn garments, pattern cutting, modelling, toiles, alterations, transformations, embroidery, accessories, one-off pieces, sketch → materials → pattern → making.
- Fashion Illustration & Art: fashion figures, watercolour figures, drawing, painting, silhouette and colour studies.
- Image & Personal Branding: moodboards, colour analysis, colour combinations, body shape/proportion studies, petite studies, Romantic/Theatrical Romantic studies when relevant, personal style and visual identity concepts.
- Concepts & Process: self-commissioned briefs, research, references, materials, colour notes, sketches, prototypes, development, decisions, changes and final realisation.
Selection rule
Is it beautiful? Does it represent me? Would I like someone to ask me to create something similar?
If the answer is no, leave it out. This is a selection, not an inventory. Do not add skills you are merely learning: add the resulting work when it is strong enough to belong here.
Project labels & selling
Useful labels: Designed and handmade by Elisa De Simone · One-of-a-kind piece · Original artwork · Personal study · Self-commissioned brief · Watercolour on paper · Hand embroidery · Natural fibres.
If a piece is for sale, add a discreet Available label and link View piece → to its Laboratory/product page. Portfolio = show the work. Laboratory = sell the work.
Images, signature & watermark
Let images do most of the work. Prefer large photographs, scans and close details over decorative icons: finished pieces, hands at work, fabric, sketches, paint, thread, pattern paper, palettes and notebooks.
Before publishing original drawings or artwork, choose a consistent subtle signature/watermark system. Preserve high-resolution originals offline and publish web-sized versions where appropriate.
A place to make, notice, collect, experiment — and share some beauty.
THE ART OF PRESENCE · ELISA DE SIMONE
A PROJECT IN MIND?
Would you like to create something together?
Whether you are thinking about personal branding, a creative collaboration, a handmade piece or simply have an idea you would like to explore, tell me about it.