Shopper's Guide: Galeria Melissa
by The ShoesTV Team February 8th, 2012 at 11:50 AM
Nestled along the tony Rua Oscar Freire in São Paulo's Jardins district, ShoesTV fans will find Galeria Melissa, a chic concept store where plastic rules, shoegasms are born and Vivienne Westwood and Jason Wu have left their mark.
A crossword-inspired collage of colorful fan pictures greets shoppers
The last time women so dearly coveted something made of plastic, it had a 36-inch chest, an 18-inch waist and its name was Barbie. Today's plastic obsession is with Melissa shoes. Available in just about every style and color, the brand has built a niche for itself by making plastic shoes fashionable through frequent collaborations with creative visionaries.
Inside the store
The store displays the plastic creations alongside books about the corresponding designer. When ShoesTV visited, we brushed up on Vivienne Westwood and Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, who both designed a range for Melissa.
Vivienne Westwood's superhero-esque pumps
Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid's design
Other fashion designer collaborations include Gareth Pugh, Jean Paul Gaultier and Alexandre Herchcovitch. Architect Gaetano Pesce and brothers Fernando and Humberto Campana, best known for furniture design, also contributed to the line. Even popular characters, such as the Disney queens of mean, Ursula, Cruella de Vil, Maleficent and The Evil Queen, pop up on Melissa shoes.
Queens of mean on Melissa shoes
For those who'd rather skip the jaunt to Sao Paulo, Melissa is making plastic dreams come true in our neck of the woods with a new store in NYC.
Wrapped in plastic, it's fantastic!