London’s Galeria Melissa Covent Garden has been transformed into an exciting and vibrant installation to celebrate the launch of ‘Colour me’; the latest footwear and accessories collection from Brazilian brand Melissa.

One of the overlooked details that builds our reality is colour – a subtle feature that changes the way we experience everything around us. It’s a form of communication that makes it possible to imagine how an orange tastes, sense the boldness of red and the serenity of blue. These sentiments are the foundation of Melissa’s newest collection.

The ‘Colour me’ installation’s creative concept comes from Studio XAG with the result being a visual spectacle featuring floor to ceiling transparent sculptures of coloured acrylic discs which cascade and flood into the space. Colourful vinyl shapes also feature on the floor, guiding and encouraging visitors to explore this immersive world.

Visual artist Natalia Stuyk, whom has collaborated with the brand on multiple installations including the very successful “Paraíso” has created the video to accompany ‘Colour me’: “When we developed Paraíso, the idea was to translate the digital shapes and textures in my videos into real life sculptures, creating an otherworldly feel to the installation. The videos I've created for other installations for Melissa such as Possession, FILA and Away to Mars were intended to be an extension of what visitors are experiencing in reality, like a window into the installation's natural habitat. I like to work towards the symbiosis between real and imaginary.”

The streams of colours in the installation reflects the Melissa ‘Colour Me’ palette and the glossy finishes of the sculpture, vinyl and video all echo Melissa’s signature raw material, MELFEX®, a type of PVC that is recyclable and vegan. The installation is free to visit and will be held in the Galeria from Thursday 13th February until the end of July 2020.

Since 1979, Melissa has been working hard to design innovative fashion footwear. As part of a portfolio of brands from Brazilian shoemaker group Grendene, the company originally produced plastic nets that were used to protect large bottles of wine, a method still used today in the artisanal and family owned wineries of South Brazil. These nets inspired the origins of Melissa and the company began manufacturing shoes made of PVC, with their own material now known as MELFEX®.

The original model, Aranha (Spider in Portuguese) was inspired by the attire of French Riviera fishermen and the style soon became an icon in Brazil. The brand was the first to collaborate with another designer, creating an iconic heel with Jean-Paul Gaultier in 1983. The collaborations have continued since then with Melissa teaming up with iconic brands including Vivienne Westwood, Karl Lagerfeld, Jeremy Scott, Campana Bros, Comme des Garçons, FILA, Gareth Pugh, Jason Wu, Opening Ceremony and many more.

Melissa have also expanded into other industries other than fashion having created perfumes, collaborated with artists such as the Campana Brothers and architect Zaha Hadid and opened three brick-and-mortar galleries or ‘Galeria’s’, which have become centres for major exhibitions and artistic and cultural activities, located in three of the world’s cultural capitals; Sao Paulo, New York and London. The Galeria spaces have since featured installations from visionaries such as; Zaha Hadid, Karl Lagerfeld, Jeremy Scott, Gareth Pugh, Vivienne Westwood, Juno Calypso and Claire Barrow.

In the 1990’s, Possession, Melissa’s most recognised style was released with the original ‘jelly shoe’ becoming a global phenomenon. In the last decade, Melissa have created over 32 million pairs of shoes and are sold today in over 70 countries. In the age of eco-friendly and sustainable design, Melissa have worked hard to ensure that their production is 100% efficient with no excess waste. Melissa products are cruelty-free with no animal products and have been registered Vegan by The Vegan Society, all paper packaging is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and all items are 100% recyclable with the brand creating an initiative for customers to recycle their Melissa products in-store.