Biography

Elisa Jimenez was born in 1963 in Texas to Luis Jimenez and Vicky Balcou.  She was raised in Texas but spent her summers in New Mexico with her father.  Her Mija(Grandmother) taught her how to sew at an early age.  She received Bachelors of Fine Art with a minor in anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin, wond a National Foundation for the Arts Promising Artist award, and earned a Masters of Fine Arts with a minor in the classics from the University of Arizona at Tucson.

In 1994 Elisa moved to Manhattan, New York.  It was there that she realized her potential talent as a clothing designer, after a friend at a party commented on her self-made dress, and soon became Elisa’s first client.  It was then that she launched her career in fashion. In the ten years since then, Vogue has named her "the scoop" and has consistently acknowledged her position at the forefront of the new avant-garde, as well as the one of the top 10 American Designers in the independent realm.  Additionally, she has appeared in the pages of Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Dutch, Black Book, Paper Mag, Jane, and Trace as well as others. Elisa's work has been featured by such high profile clients as Melissa Auf Der Mar, Cher's "Believe" album, Jennifer Connelly's character in "Requiem for A Dream", Marisa Tomei, Courtney Love, Sarah Jessica Parker, "Sex in the City", Pink, Cameron Diaz, famed art photographer Cindy Sherman, and Britney Spears.

In 1996 Elisa's daughter Calliope was born.  In 2004 Elisa was traveling in London with her daughter when a car hit her and her daughter.  While Calliope walked away with only a few minor scrapes, Elisa was effectively dead for several minutes before being revived by the medical staff at Charing Cross Hospital.  The accident left her with several disabilities, most of which have been rehabilitated in the last several years through yoga, the support of friends, and other methods, both mainstream and new age.  After more than a decade in New York, Elisa now lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico where the horizons of her career continue to grow.