Melissa: Shoes That Redefine Affordable, Stylish, Recyclable And... Plastic!

Melissa is a socially and environmentally responsible company in Brazil that employs sustainable practices, treats their employees well (paying them above average wages complete with benefits), collaborates with hip designers and fashion icons (like Karim Rashid, Zaha Hadid and Vivienne Westwood to name only a few) to churn out millions (over 50 million pairs in the past 25 years) of environmentally responsible shoes made with a special patented recyclable plastic compound called MEFLEX. A shoe begins as a large orb of plastic and takes a only a minute to produce.



Plastic shoes? Yes, but these are far more chic, varied and even come in a 'flocked' or 'velvet' versions. Collaborations with some of today's hippest designers yield everything from "couture" plastic shoes adorned with crystals by J. Maskrey to super sexy high heels by the Campana Brothers and Alexandre Herchovitch you'd find hard to believe are plastic.




J Maskrey


The Campanas brothers


alexandre herchcovitch


Stylist Judy Blame



Vivienne Westwood

The latest collaboration is with world renowned architect/designer Zaha Hadid:



The website(s), advertising and concept store in SaoPaulo, whose facade changes monthly with various artists' work, are all incredibly creative. The shoes smell like candy, look chic, come in every style from tennis shoes and sandals to ballet flats and boots with prices ranging from approx $46.00 to $60.00 USD





The shoe selections seem to vary depending upon which country's site you are viewing.

Below are some of their special editions for 2008, which were collaborations with well known characters from comics and cartoons.

Le Petit Prince /The Little Prince:


Wonder Woman:

Walt Disney's Tinkerbell:

Oswald:

And a few more of their many styles:

Above: Secret Love. Available in several colors.

Above: A 'velvet' MEFLEX shoe shown in black from Vivienne Westwood's Anglomania collection.



Above: Positive, shown in asch. Also available in several color combinations and with or without the ankle strap


Above: Hello, shown in in gold or black 'velvet'. Other colors available.

And a few styles from the Spring 2009 collection:








see and learn more at Melissa Plastic Dreams