Globo News talks about Grendene and Melissa Melissa was the protagonist in an episode from Mundo S/A, a Globo News’ program (Brazilian network), last 28th of April. From New York, Giuliana Morrone presented the report that tells the story behind Grendene (the company behind Melissa), since its creation in 1971 until nowadays, when it became the greatest shoe producer in Brazil and abroad. Reporter Renata Ribeiro visited the company’s head-office and factory in Farroupilha (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil), where she showed details of the shoe production, talked to creative director Edson Matsuo and revealed Melissa’s new design, technological and conceptual approach. The program, with plenty of beautiful images and useful information, presented Melissa as “a object of desire for Brazilian and foreign consumers, sold in the most important boutiques around the world”. Galeria Melissa, in Sao Paulo, Fernando and Humberto Campana (the creators of the Melissa that most sells in Brazil nowadays, the Melissa Campana Flats), and a chat on Grendene’s recycling processes have also been featured. Watch the report, here.

Vivienne Westwood’s fashion show with Melissa in Singapore This year’s edition of the main Singapore’s fashion week, named Audi Fashion Festival Singapore, had the participation of Vivienne Westwood, who has been invited by the event’s organization to present her winter collection on the 10th of May – the last of five days with mostly local fashion shows. Vivienne gave color to the catwalk placed in the Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza with the exuberant style of her Anglomania line, described by the local press as “a bold wearable winter”. The models wore Melissa Three Straps, one of the latest Melissas created by the queen of punk. Many local and foreign journalists attended the show, which has been intensely applauded, even without Vivienne’s presence. See the Getty Image’s complete image gallery of the show or the pictures published by Australian newspaper Sydney Herald Tribune.

Celebrities wear Melissa in and outside of Brazil Beth Ditto, the indie rock singer that became a cool symbol, is a declared fan of Melissa. Famous, among other things, for assuming with no prejudices that she wears big sizes, the woman leading The Gossip loves fashion and has already been photographed wearing her favorite Melissa models, as the Three Straps, in occasions such as the group’s concerts in Paris, a fashion editorial for Pop Magazine and the most recent edition of the French Elle. But Beth is not the only one. Vanessa Minillo, ex-MTV, present Entertainment Tonight Television correspondent and also the wife of Nick Lachey (Jessica Simpson’s ex-boyfriend), appeared on Celebrity Style Guide wearing jeans with golden Melissa Campana Flats. And if Vanessa prefer flats, Lynn Spears, loves high heels and showed up with Melissa Scarfun Summer in a family picture published on the cover of OK! Magazine. As for Brazil, writer and TV presenter Fernanda Young recently combined a strapless dress with Melissa Ashanti boots in her program "Irritando Fernanda Young", broadcasted by Brazilian channel GNT. Check the looks on the pictures.

Melissa meeting: good results and new collection Each season, Melissa organizes a meeting with the brand’s representatives and distributors to present the new collection. This semester, it happened in Sao Paulo on the 20th and the 21st of May, with around 150 professionals. For the first time, national and international representatives worked together side by side in the same event, what has generated a total synergy putting up with the sales results of the last season (the best one in Melissa’s history) and also presenting the products and the campaign for the new collection that is going to become known during the next Sao Paulo Fashion Week, Summer 2010 edition, from the 17th to the 22nd of June. Expectations are high, and Melissa promises to bring new unforgettable models, new partnerships and characters in complete syntony with the brand’s public.

Melissa + Zaha Hadid’s sucess in DSM and other exclusive boutiques Fashion websites, blogs and newsletters have recently been spreading the good news to the Fashion Planet: Melissa + Zaha Hadid is already available in the most exclusive boutiques in cities like London, Tokyo and Sao Paulo. One of them is the avant-garde Dover Street Market, in London, where Melissa arrived on the 22nd of May and it is the only Brazilian product ever to be commercialized in the store. The boots created by Zaha, who was inspired by the movements of the body, is a total success, as websites like Vogue UK’s and the DSM Paper show. Other stores that are already selling Melissa + Zaha Hadid are L’Eclaireur, in Paris, 10 CorsoComo, in Milan, Tokyo and Seoul, Jean Pierre Bua, in Barcelona, Delito y Castigo, in Madrid, Holt Renfrew, in Canada (Toronto, Vancouver e Montreal), Isetan, in Tokyo, and, in Sao Paulo, Galeria Melissa. Melissa + Zaha Hadid is a limited edition, available in various colors.