Melissa + Vivienne Westwood: Queens of Contemporary Fashion
Melissa translates the inspirations, the taste, the joy of living Brazilians in footwear also thanks to the collaborations with prestigious names in fashion, art and international design.
The footwear brand Melissa was born in 1979 on the French Riviera. Here the first historical model of the house was designed, the Aranha sandals, inspired by fishermen's shoes. From France Melissa establishes herself in Brazil, where it translates the inspirations, the taste, the joy of living Brazilians in footwear with a high artistic, creative, design and even sustainable level. The raw material used to produce Melissa shoes is in fact rubber: it is called Melflex®, a patented form of 100% recyclable PVC that offers flexibility, comfort and durability to each pair of Melissa. But it's not just about soft and ecofriendly plastic: the fragrance of Melissa shoes is one of their distinctive and unmistakable traits. Feeling the sweet and delicate strawberry chewing gum aroma emanating from Melissa footwear produces a sensory experience. Their sweet smell reminds us and makes us reconnect to our childhood and, more generally, to the world of children. Now that we are adults, returning for an instant children means to associate new memories - those of our adult life - with the tenderness of that perfume and, at the same time, with our Melissa shoes.
Melissa is also one of the first brands to have started artistic collaborations with prestigious names in fashion, art and international design. The first collaboration with an iconic personality on the international scene was with the stylist Jean-Paul Gaultier in 1983. Again, since 2008 Melissa collaborates with Vivienne Westwood: the creativity of one of the fashion queens becomes Melissa shoes more pop and rock, and therefore more accessible to the general public. From this collaboration Melissa + Vivienne Westwood were born, for example, the famous pumps with ovesized heart of the series Anglomania and the ultra cool open sneakers called "Brighton".
PUMPS LADY DRAGON MELISSA + VIVIENNE WESTWOOD ANGLOMANIA
Lady Dragon shoes with a big heart applied on the toe are made of 100% recyclable, perfumed and shiny PVC, with thin and medium heel and anglomania, Vivienne Westwood / Melissa serigraphed sole. Sexy but never vulgar (if anything vain!), a bit Betty Boop, a bit Jessica Rabbit, a lot romantic rock, the Lady Dragon pumps, especially in the black version with cherry red heart, fit the most diverse outfits (and invite you to do it): for example, they excite an elegant look for the day or evening; they have a sporty look; sweeten a cocktail look; they load a casual look with femininity, and so on. The Lady Dragon Vivienne Westwood + Melissa are perfect for those who recognize themselves in all their qualities and for who, finally, is ready to express them without compromise.
SNEAKERS BRIGHTON MELISSA + VIVIENNE WESTWOOD ANGLOMANIA
The Brighton sneakers have the shape of a classic tennis shoe but open in several points of the upper, made of soft and fragrant PVC. In all the openings - geometric cuts made on the shoe - there are five: two on each side and one on the back, under the interlacing of the laces. The foot is then discovered in precise points of the Brighton sneakers, making them perfect for the summer season, including sudden downpours. The insole has the exclusive Anglomania graphic by Vivienne Westwood + Melissa.
The comfort and practicality are those of a tennis shoe without being completely. The Brighton Sneakers, unisex (check the men's black ones here) and available in four matt colors (black, white, electric blue, fluo orange) are something different from the classic sneakers or tennis shoes: they represent a new dimension, a sort of evolution in the luxury sports sector. Like all Melissa shoes are 100% recyclable PVC, with padded insole. Resistant, flexible, hypoallergenic, they pleasantly smell like fruit chewing gum.
In 2010 Melissa collaborates with the architect Zaha Hadid, crossing the world of architecture with that of footwear. This is how shoes that go beyond the classic design of women's shoes are born to enter the world of contemporary architecture much more than on tiptoe.
The agreement between fashion brands and creatives of international fame often leaves its mark: this is the case of collaborations Melissa + Zaha Hadid and Melissa + Vivienne Westwood, mentioned in the book "Fifty Shoes That Changed the World" recently republished by the London Museum of Design.