My favorite thing about Elisa is that she has never stopped dreaming. As a child, Elisa says that she would climb into a cabinet to play with her toys. As an adult, Elisa says that she is now “out of the cabinet.” She is considerably less introverted, in her feminine, polished and richly detailed sensibility, and her looks often resemble a 19th century portrait. You will almost never find Elisa in anything but a shade of Rococo pink, which is often designed by her mentor, John Galliano. It is obvious why Elisa is so taken with Galliano. Like him, her life and her style are inspired by an abundant fantasy life. She says, “everything is pure inspiration. If I’m not drawing for the collection, I’m making a film with [my husband] Tristan. Life and work is exactly the same thing.” This includes where she sleeps; white linen is not in her repertoire. Instead, Oriental-inspired, embroidered silks in lipstick reds and fringe decorate her bed, which itself is tucked into the wall. I imagine never wanting to get out from under those luxurious sheets in this extravagant nook which she has created. In fact, it is reminiscent of the cupboard hideaway she escaped to as a child. Elisa grew up in a quaint Medevil town in Spain and recounted to me how she hated having to take off the couture dresses that she and her grandmother would play dress up in. She could never understand why she couldn’t keep these gowns on all day after church or school. So passionate about her visual expression, Elisa would change her outfits twice during breaks from the playground and would even have her nanny change her hairstyles accordingly. Not much has changed for her since then, and why should it? Take one look at the flowers on her head, her fuschia feathered bolero and her huge smile and you would want to crawl right up into that shelf with her.

If you like Elisa, you may also enjoy Beatrix Ost, Lisa Moffie, and Adia Trischler.