AI-generated campaign portrait: a laughing model with hands on her cheeks, in a white crochet top against a colourful woven rug
Virginia Lemes

Virginia Lemes

Brand Strategist & AI Creative DirectorDubaiOpen to Creative Director roles in the UAE

Strategic brand vision, executed at the speed of AI.

Dubai-based Creative Director with 10+ years elevating luxury, fashion and lifestyle brands. Blending high-fashion taste with cutting-edge AI production.

Trilingual: Portuguese · Italian · English

In motion

Video and AI clone work

10+ years

Brand strategy and creative direction across fashion, luxury and lifestyle

4 global markets

Campaign experience in the UAE, Italy, Brazil and Australia

350K+

Fashion community built and co-founded (TrendRock)

Hours, not weeks

From brief to production-ready campaign

Grounded in real-world campaign execution at Cartier and TrendRock. Directed with strategy, refined with a creative eye, and powered by AI.

Brand Strategy · Creative Direction · AI Visual Systems · Campaign Production · Generative Video

The methodology: AI direction and curation

AI enabled the speed. Strategy drove every decision.

AI generates possibilities; creative direction defines identity. My process combines trained aesthetic judgment, custom-styled prompting and rigorous post-production curation, so every asset stays consistent, on-brand and emotionally true.

Concept campaigns · AI-directed

Five projects, one standard

Speculative creative explorations and visual concepting.

01 · Spec concept · FIFA World Cup 2026

La Romana × Panini

A milk chocolate football sphere cracks open to reveal a national-team gelato flavour, mirroring the surprise of opening a pack of Panini stickers.

Pop-up gelato truck branded La Romana × Panini with giant football sculptures and a photo kiosk
Two hands hold jersey-shaped cones with chocolate football and shirt toppers
Limited-edition box of four chocolate football gelato cups on grass
Gelato cup with a waffle shirt topper on a football pitch
Waffle toppers shaped like a football, two shirts and a boot
Brand activation scene with truck, banner and Panini photo pod at sunset
Two fans enjoying gelato in front of the truck

The system

13 national flavours · jersey-shaped cones · chocolate player toppers · limited-edition packaging · pop-up truck · Panini photo pod · 5 UAE locations

What I built, solo

Campaign ideation, product design, brand guidelines, hero imagery, packaging, pop-up design and kiosk concept, produced with Midjourney, NanoBanana Pro, Flux, Kling, Higgsfield, Krea and Seedance.

Unsolicited concept created for portfolio purposes. Not affiliated with or endorsed by La Romana, Panini or FIFA.

02 · Course challenge · Fashion campaign

Game, Set, Style

A campaign challenge from my AI creator course. I created the model, designed the shoes and built the whole concept around the world of tennis, then directed every frame from the court to the product details.

Model in a white embroidered mini dress reclining in a deck chair against a terracotta wall, with a tennis racket and bag
Model in a white embroidered dress standing at a clay court net between cypress trees
Model mid-pose with a wooden racket raised above her head at the net
Overhead shot of the model lying on red clay among scattered tennis balls
Close portrait of the model with curly hair resting her chin on her hand
Model in a backless white dress looking over her shoulder on the court, spectators in panama hats in the foreground
Legs raised against the net wearing green gingham sandals with tennis charms
Detail of the gingham heeled sandal decorated with beaded tennis rackets and balls on the clay

Course campaign challenge, not commissioned. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Roland-Garros.

03 · Spec concept · Campaign and format testing

Gianni Chiarini Firenze

A strategic concept tested across billboard, digital and out-of-home formats before production. The restraint in the design (isolation, precision, heritage) had to work in real contexts, not only as a rendering.

Billboard for Gianni Chiarini Firenze showing a woven bag in front of the Ponte Vecchio
Playing card of the Gianni Chiarini bag on tan leather
Sticky-note sketch of the Gianni Chiarini bag
Second sketch with a stitching-detail note
The finished woven bag
Gianni Chiarini ace card on leather among other cards

AI output should not feel like AI. Every image is built for the brand's positioning, not to show off the tool.

Unsolicited concept created for portfolio purposes. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Gianni Chiarini.

04 · Brand creation · UAE market

Emi Sand

A complete luxury beauty brand for affluent UAE consumers: product, packaging and identity. The stone aesthetic signals premium, natural and artisanal. AI gave me the speed, and strategy drove each choice.

Stone-topped ceramic jar for the Emi Sand beauty brand
Emi Sand hair mask bottle topped with a stone
Emi Sand name drawn in sand
Emi Sand hair care box embossed on sand
Hands holding an Emi Sand oil bottle topped with a stone, on linen

05 · Brand concept · Character design

Tazij

I conceptualised a soda brand, then designed an animated creature ecosystem to personify it: product design, character development and visual language, built in a fraction of the traditional timeline.

Felted green creatures gathered in dappled light
Felted creatures climbing a Tazij soda bottle at a picnic

The craft

Imagery that holds up next to real photography

Campaign and product photography

Realistic models, consistent casting and unified environments. Materials, textures and light, photographed at their best.

Model in a mustard crochet cardigan and matching sunglasses
Close portrait of a model in a cream crochet ruffle top
Model in a white lace cover-up seated on a wicker golf cart with a dog
Model in flowing white lace walking past the wicker golf cart

Strategic casting

The brand's positioning determines the talent, so I direct the talent to match the strategy. Different aesthetics for different markets, one system with endless variations. Authenticity over perfection.

Extreme close-up of a blonde model with windswept hair
Portrait of a model with dark curly hair and freckles
Portrait of a woman in a black abaya with gold embroidery
Smiling older model in a white tee and silver chain necklace
Smiling model glancing over her shoulder in a white tank

One product, every channel

Studio hero, lifestyle environment, e-commerce flat lay and UGC testimonial, with one system and one brand voice. A limited asset becomes campaign-ready with no reshoot.

Model in a pale blue embroidered dress against a sandstone wall
Three asset variations of the same dress: walking, studio standing and flat lay
Studio hero shot of the blue dress with a brown bucket hat
Flat lay of a cream embroidered sundress

Behind the scenes

How I build my AI clone

The way I cast talent for a brand is the way I cast myself: one consistent face that can be placed in any scene, any light, any wardrobe.

Virginia, original photo

The original

Virginia, AI clone styled in a blazer and leopard skirt

The AI clone

In motion: the clone presenting in four languages

01

Start from real photographs

A deliberate set of angles, expressions and lighting. The clone is only as believable as what it learns from.

02

Lock the identity

Generate the likeness, then test it in different light, framing and styling until the face holds across every image.

03

Direct the scene

Brief it like a creative director: location, light, styling and mood chosen to match the brand's positioning.

04

Refine for authenticity

Correct drift, keep skin and expression natural, and choose authenticity over perfection.

05

Move it into video

Bring the stills to life in motion while keeping the same face, using tools like Higgsfield, Kling and Seedance.

Process

From brief to launch

Human direction, AI production, one process.

01

Brief

Creative direction · Me

Strategic vision, art direction and concept development.

02

Production

AI execution

Rapid visual iteration, multiple concepts, refined direction.

Claude · Midjourney · Flux AI · DALL·E

03

Refinement

AI powered

Quality control, polish and brand consistency.

Claude · Magnific · Krea AI · Higgsfield

04

Launch

Delivery

Production-ready and delivered in hours, not weeks.

What I bring to your team

Creative leadership that scales

Strategic creative leadership

Not just AI execution. I build campaign concepts on positioning logic, so every visual serves the brand strategy.

Luxury market expertise

10+ years positioning fashion, luxury and lifestyle brands. I know what sells in these categories, and I understand the regional nuance of Australia, Italy, Brazil and the UAE.

AI production at scale

Claude, Midjourney, Flux AI, DALL·E, Magnific, Krea AI, Higgsfield, Kling, Seedance and NanoBanana Pro. I know which tool solves which problem, and when human judgement overrides automation.

Systems thinking

I don't make one-off campaigns. I build replicable systems (visual guidelines, prompt protocols, brand-consistency frameworks) that scale across teams and geographies.

Portrait of Virginia Lemes in a white shirt with layered gold necklaces

About

Taste and strategy first. The tools follow.

I'm a brand strategist and AI Creative Director based in Dubai, with 10+ years in fashion, luxury and lifestyle. My career started on the brand side: marketing VIP orders for exclusive high-end pieces at Cartier in Australia, then co-founding TrendRock, a Brazilian fashion editorial community of 350K+ members.

I work in Portuguese, Italian and English, and I hold a UAE Golden Visa.

Let's create.

Open to Creative Director and Head of Creative roles in the UAE.

Email

me@virginialemes.com

Phone

+971 50 521 6110

LinkedIn

linkedin.com/in/virginialemes

Based in

Dubai, UAE

Virginia Lemes