19 Jan 2012

Love Plastic

I am completely in love with Brazilian shoe brand Melissa. I've had several models.
Melissa is a range of plastic footwear, very popular in Brazil, produced by Grendene. It was launched in 1979 and the first model was named Aranha (Spider), taking as inspiration the sandals worn by the fishermen of the French Riviera.
For a long time Melissa has been successful amongst adults and, from 1986, has also become successful amongst children with the launch of the "Melissinha" (little Melissa).
After a period of stagnation in 1994 Melissa sandals were revived. From 1994 to 1998, sought to reposition the brand in the market and at the beginning of the year 2000, the brand was growing again, becoming again quite prominent in the fashion world.
 Several famous designers and fashion designers were invited to create / customize models for Melissa, among them the Brazilian artist Romero Britto, Brazilian designer Alexandre Hechcovitch and the brothers Fernando and Humberto Campana.
The plastic design has been attracting the attention of renowned designers and brands worldwide. Melissa is now reference and the biggest world fashion names launched products in plastic, which reinforces the pioneering spirit of the brand as a trendsetter in fashion and its positioning as a leader in plastic shoes.
In recent years, Melissa has partnered with Egyptian designer Karim Rashid, and British stylists J. Maskrey and Judy Blame. In 2008, two extraordinary women joined the list: British designer Vivienne Westwood and Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid.
For more than three years, Melissa has been part of major European, Asian and American trade fairs and celebrates the excellent repercussion with every new collection. The highlights are participating in Tranoi (Paris), White (Milan), Bread and Butter (Barcelona), Project (Las Vegas), Pure (London) and Who's Next (New York).
 Today, Melissa uses Melflexin in its manufacture. This material is flexible, heat moldable, as well as resistant. Melflexin offers much more comfort and softness to the touch. It's also worth mentioning, Melissa's heritage: the distinctive "smell". It is the only shoe company in the world that applies aroma to its products.
All products are developed according to the highest standards of sustainable design. Therefore, the creation of a Melissa model takes into account low-energy manufacturing, a longer life cycle and the reusability and ease of disassembly and recycling.
 In 2008 the Sustainability Project was started, a partnership with + Light and the Campana Brothers, with campaigns taking place in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro calling people's attention to the issue of sustainability. The campaign also included the launch of Melissa Campana Corallo, made of 30% recycled PVC. Part of the sales was donated to the NGO World Vision, which run programs to address poverty and social exclusion.