Creative advisor for founder-led brands

The strongest brands are not only seen. They are felt.

I work directly with founders to bring clarity, feeling and direction to the creative side of what they are building - from the first idea to the next chapter.

Clarity for
what you’re building.

What founders ask me for is rarely another deliverable. It’s taste, and a point of view they can build from.

I notice what feels unresolved, make sense of the bigger creative picture and turn those observations into a direction that a founder and their team can actually use.

Early idea, launch, or a brand that has outgrown its own world.

Fashion, hospitality, design, beauty, lifestyle and culture.

01Sensitivity is the lens.

02Feeling is the territory.

03Clarity is the value.

Sensitivity is not softness for its own sake. It is a way of noticing atmosphere, tone, energy, inconsistency and the small decisions that stay with people.

Meet me at
the moment
you’re in.

The entry point changes. What happens first doesn’t.

Give the idea a world.

For founders with an idea, concept or early business that has not yet found its creative language.

  • Idea clarification & creative positioning
  • Naming and concept exploration
  • Audience and cultural research
  • Brand feeling & visual territory
  • Early creative roadmap & collaborator recommendations

Creative Clarity Session

A focused review, private founder session and concise direction for what comes next.

Creative Direction Sprint

A two-to-four-week exploration of a defined creative challenge, distilled into a clear direction.

Ongoing Creative Advisory

A close, recurring relationship around the decisions, campaigns and opportunities shaping your brand.

Not sure where to start? Start with a conversation.

Selected
Experience

Most of these engagements grew beyond their original brief.

01

Iris van Herpen

Sculptural white Iris van Herpen couture look photographed on the runway

Social · Digital · Content

Contributed to the house’s social media, digital content and online communication, within an established creative direction.

02

Tamara Ralph

Tamara Ralph black feathered couture look on the runway

Pre-launch · Digital · Design

Shaped how a new house presented itself ahead of its first collection, through digital mock-ups, presentation decks and design materials.

03

Kilentar

KÍLÈNTÁR woven evening look photographed against a soft neutral backdrop

Creative Advisory · Strategy

Ongoing creative advisory to the founder, covering the brand’s creative direction and a restructured approach to how the business operates and communicates.

04

Ina Kess

INA KESS tailored black look photographed on a city street

Strategy · Social

Social media strategy and content planning for the contemporary womenswear label.

05

Djihan Paris

Djihan Paris diamond necklace and rings styled in a close editorial crop

Launch · Creative Direction

Shaped the creative vision ahead of launch, and directed the brand’s website, communication and wider digital strategy.

And more.

Conversations over presentations.
Clarity before execution.

  1. Listen

    Your story, ambition and what feels unresolved.

  2. Observe

    The brand, its world and the experience around it.

  3. Clarify

    The real creative question. What matters now.

  4. Explore

    Possibilities, references and creative routes.

  5. Direct

    A clear direction and a considered set of priorities.

  6. Guide

    A trusted perspective as the next decisions unfold.

The best work often happens in rooms of two or three people - where ideas can be explored honestly and decisions can move quickly.

Editorial candle study on a warm amber surface

MODE

MODE is the editorial world around my practice - observations, visits, conversations and creative breakdowns across fashion, hospitality and culture.

ObservationsBreakdownsVisitsConversationsFounder Mode
A softly lit hotel reception desk in burl wood and marble, with pleated table lamps and a deco ceiling light
Hospitality / Light, texture, atmosphere

The most decisive moment
is the one nobody designs.

A boutique hotel that seats you with a drink instead of processing you at a desk has spent nothing. It has only decided that hospitality comes before administration. Most businesses invest where the experience photographs well, and leave the first five minutes to the operation.

Walk your own first five minutes as a stranger and find the moment that exists for your convenience rather than theirs. It is almost always the cheapest thing you will ever fix.

The person behind the perspective

Simona
Gol

Creative advisor and director.

I see the gap between a good idea and a world people remember.

My background spans luxury fashion, editorial, social and production - years spent between strategy and execution, building audiences and shaping campaigns.

The same thing kept happening. I would be hired for a defined role, and before long I was sitting with the founder on much larger questions - the direction of the brand, the strategy behind it, sometimes a full relaunch.

I did not set out to build an advisory. It came from noticing that the most useful thing I do is see the whole business at once, and help a founder work out what it actually needs next.

Taste, clarity and perspective are the thread through it all. Sensitivity is the way I notice what is missing - and where a brand could go next.

And when it’s
time to make it.

When an idea needs to be made real, selected work moves into execution through Gollance Moda Studio.

Creative direction, campaigns, AI content, social and editorial systems, shoots and production - built around the direction we have defined.

Visit Gollance Moda Studio

Start a
conversation.

If you’re building something and need a clearer creative direction, tell me about it.

Get in touch