Melissa collaborates with Jason Wu, Mariko Mori and Vivienne Westwood for holiday shoes
BRAZILIAN PLASTIC shoe brand Melissa ( known also for having scented products) has captured the attention of some big names in art and fashion with whom it has collaborated on some successful shoe designs. For example, a collaboration with the Campana brothers (wellknown Brazilian furniture designers) resulted in what is now a ubiquitous weblike plastic shoe. For its Holiday collection this year, Melissa has another collaboration with British designer Vivienne Westwood, fashion designer Jason Wu, and contemporary Japanese artist Mariko Mori. For Jason Wu’s line, the web patterns return with a nod to denim, the plastic textured to look like the fabric as it snakes around the feet. The line is available in black, white, navy, and a deep red. In another line, the designer uses grosgrain ribbon to inject some class in a thong sandal, in black, pink, and red.
The pairs created by Mariko Mori, known for her meditations on death and consciousness, have an almost dreamy quality to them. With a pearly sheen and a color close to the Aurora Borealis, the shoes have an almost antiseptic cleanliness.
Vivienne Westwood’s line, meanwhile, harks back to her punk roots with angry, chunky sandals in black and in white, with an aggressive looking wing at the strap ( her line last year was so much more feminine; with the same wing, only daintier).
The collection includes a line of plastic espadrilles, a line evoking woven patterns, ballet flats with bows à la Ferragamo, and a few plastic satchels. —