Can you introduce yourself quickly?

CRD: My name is Caroline Romain-Desfossés, I am 32 years old and I am an illustrator artist.

When did you start drawing?

CRD: I have been drawing since I was little and it was very natural for me to move towards becoming an illustrator.

Tell us about your world, your drawings.

CRD: My work is greatly inspired by my two beloved great masters Felix Vallotton and Le Douanier Rousseau.
I am passionate about nature, although very urban. Colors can make me happy, I am deeply in love with it, and gouache is the medium that suits me best because I like saturated and bright colors. I also like all the nuances that come from them, only thanks to water.
Passionate about patterns through my training in textile design, I like the accumulation of patterns, it's also for that reason that the collaboration with Elise is a bit obvious, I believe that we have that in common .
I don't have a committed message to share, I just like to do things that I find beautiful. Animals bring a touch of softness to my illustrations.
The rigor of the tiles and the multitude of details that generally make up my drawings are a way of helping me to concentrate. Doing very precise, very small details, it makes my heart rate go down. and it relaxes me. It's a real source of joy in fact. I am also very attracted by the technique, by the effort that is put into the drawing to try to to do something realistic, “well drawn”, without preventing personal interpretation of course. Otherwise, they would just be copies.
I want to bring joy into people's lives, through these colors and these universes, nothing less!

Artists who inspire you?

CRD: Felix Valloton: I discovered him through his landscapes, but this theme is far from representing him entirely. It is thanks to him in any case that I can imagine a sky other than blue by example. He still had a more than modern vision for the time, and his associations of colors are incredibly fine. Of course, Gauguin is a real inspiration too, and Boncompain. And then, one that I couldn't not mention, Le Douanier, obviously. After all, many artists and illustrators today are very talented and very inspiring, but if I had to name just one I would say Suzanne Gomont, who I love particularly for the accuracy and realism of his drawings.

How did you meet Elise Chalmin?

CRD: The collaboration with Élise is mostly pure chance. I have known her brand almost since the beginning, and I followed her. And then one day, there was this crazy thing, Elise posted a story in which she asks "who would you like me to do a collab with?", and I don't hesitate a moment to answer "well, me." And I send my answer laughing, telling myself that well, my message will be read but there are probably hundreds of us who have responded.
And then she says something like, "Why not?" And she shares my work on Instagram. I have a bunch of people who are starting to follow me and it's going way too fast. Elise suggests to me that we meet, and really it's very simple: I take my TGV, I arrive, we meet meet for coffee in a nice hotel on a Thursday morning, and we hit it off perfectly.
We are completely aligned on what we want to do together. Afterwards, we continue our discussions especially in video, yes obviously the distance between us is quite large! We decide on the theme, but Overall, Elise explains to me that the goal of all this is to highlight my work, and I I am very grateful for that. To be able to completely decide what I am going to draw, what colors I will choose and what pattern rhythm I will be able to invent. It makes me pleasure, it takes me back to the years when I was a print designer, but I was there to execute a request. This is one of the first times that I have been trusted and chosen because I love the way I treat drawing. What a joy honestly!
The drawing then quickly gets going place, we discuss the models of the collection, I remember sharing my preferences with Elise on some models, but we agree on almost everything. The collab is actually done with a Crazy natural I think. As if we had known each other for a long time, everything is easy in fact. And then, then I receive photos of the prototypes, I am overexcited of course. When you are an illustrator, you are quite quickly satisfied because we have a concrete and palpable result to our work. When I have finished a drawing, I just have to look at it. The process is quite fast. There, it was incredible, I was drawing, and hop, the design appears on a dress, a skirt... it was great to be part of this project from start to finish and not just send my drawings by post and that's it. I saw the result of my drawing on pieces of fabric, and that is more than satisfying. It made me very proud.

Why put your artwork on clothes?

CRD: This collab, in fact, It makes the dream I had as a little girl come true: to be a fashionista. I send a tender kiss the little girl I was to tell her that I would have succeeded at least once! Thanks to Elise, of course, for trusting me as she did, and for allowing me to to create with her this collection which speaks of everything I love: flowers, leaves, animals, women, colors and joy.

What is your favorite piece from the collaboration?

CRD: My favorite piece is the Josette blouse for the high collar and tight cuffs that I find so elegant.