Author Archives: Melissa-Kate Studio

Our task was to write our future bio for a year or two in advance, with our ambitions of what we can achieve this year. This is how mine went.

500 words

Melissa-Kate is a Wirral-born fashion designer trailblazing in the world of wearable art and digital advancements. She focuses on the dark ‘black mirror’ type realistic horrors of the modern world and expresses that through her knowledge and experience of pattern cutting, both in physical and digital form. Her work takes you through an experience of reinventing the traditional and constantly questioning, ‘what really is fashion?’
Melissa-Kate’s fascination with tv-glitching comes from her viewing the world with visual snow. A condition which means everything looks static in her vision. Her visual migraines also add to this view of the world, seeing colours and patterns as well as heightening senses in a disturbing way.

The scary future of capitalism and technology are the ethics behind her concepts. Melissa-Kate Is a well known leftist and challenges the reality of the elite through her art forms. Her collections surrounding technology are how Melissa-Kate views the world both literally and metaphorically.
Using hand crochet, zero pater cutting techniques and digital drawings for prints, she has mastered the art of glitching and uses the different mediums to her advantage, showing just how varied her branding can stretch.
After studying pattern cutting for over 10 years at just 24, the silhouettes have caught the eyes of multiple musicians including Doha Cat, Ashnikko and Milly Cyrus. The eye catching designs making waves on the red carpet.

She interned in 2019 designing for ASOS, PrettyLittleThing, boohoo and New Look to name a few. By then she had already designed collections for love islanders and Sam Faiers from Towie, making fast fashions biggest sellers. However fast fashion didn’t fit her ethical and moral goals in fashion.

Melissa-Kate knew she was going to make waves in fashion before the age of 5, her mother supported her in this from the get go, buying every book and toy fashion related. Melissa-Kate jokes her life has come full circle, it started playing dress up games online and is now heavily focused on digital 3D prototyping and development.
The development and sales of Melissa-Kate’s NFTs became the finances of Melissa-Kate Studio, the digital is continuously allowed to become physical from this.
Melissa-Kate put on one of the largest fashion shows of 2022, allowing in all press and students to assure there is no hierarchy for the elite. Her shows are something of the future, an entire art piece to get the audience thinking.

She sells capsule collections, more wearable pieces in selfridges and Dover street market, advertising as investment pieces to slow consumption under capitalism.

Her catwalk pieces are reserved for installation displays and loaning for red carpets, music videos and other creative collaborations – they’re truly one off pieces.
the brand is at the forefront for digital inspired fashion and truly a brand of the future.

150 words

Melissa-Kate is a Wirral-born fashion designer trailblazing in the world of wearable arts. She fuses together her leftist views about the dangers of the elite and technology with her view of a tv glitch world experienced through her migraines.

Her love of digital brings realism to the digital world through 3D prototyping and artwork whilst also bringing digital to real-life through her concepts as seen on the catwalk and in exhibition spaces.

Melissa-Kate studio ready-to-wear is available in selfridges and Dover street market. Whilst digital NFTs are available through her website and on the Dress X app.

Her collections have caught the eyes of major gen-z celebrities and continue to be a talking point of the fashion industry with major recognition from Anna Wintour at Vogue.

I think writing this out has really set my intentions clear for myself and narrowed down a lot of my ideas into a clearer plan. Also it taught me I can truest set my ambitions high as it’s my chance now more than ever to be aiming for that success. I think some things may change or become more detailed in my plans after continuing my research but I’m happy with moving forward with putting these manifestations into reality.

I didn’t ever think about having to talk about myself and my brand in third person. It really got me thinking, What is Melissa-Kate studio? Even though i believed i knew everything about myself and my brand on the inside, I had never needed to explain and talk through every detail aloud. Now more than ever i know the importance of being able to articulate everything i am thinking into a sentence. Its shown me more clarity but also everything i am missing for my brand, anything contradictory and those questions i really need to answer.

More than anything i know i need to completely summarise my plans in a way everyone will be able to understand as that’s something i really struggle with. And i should be asking myself questions all the time to ensure i always keep a strong idea of what i am manifesting into reality.

Research : Freize art:

1: I love how this type of bold art reminded me how we can photograph our fashion, that these would make incredible backdrops for artistic direction. Art is so important for the overall of fashion design, it can completely change the mood of a collection.

2: a collection of art that was made to look like a photoshop computer screen. This is the level of digital back to real life that I think my work relates to. Our world really is digital vs physical art and the artist tipping that concept on its head really shows you just how important now more than ever that mixing both the physical and digital art worlds is what will keep both forms alive and respected.

3: this work makes me think of a modern day surrealism. I LOVE the works of Salvador Dali and his artistic relationship with Elsa Schiaparelli, the techniques Dali used to paint looked really 3D, smooth and polished. It’s always been my favourite style of painting due to the boldness of the colours and the smoothness of the shadows and highlights. The polished look always looked way ahead of its time, 3D like. This artwork really took that concept to the future, furthering these techniques into figures of abnormal shapes, painted completely flat it looks so 3D. I even think it looks like Schiaparellis new collections of the muscle dresses.

4: I noticed straight away what this artwork was. Whilst to some it looks like amazing shapes, i noticed it’s relations to pattern cutting, that it’s a 3D shape flattened down. Seeing pattern cutting in a more geometric way – like nets we learned in primary school maths – opens new possibilities of how we can shape fabric to the body.

5: Damien Hirst is my all time favourite artist. I love any chance I can get to see his work. His spin paint work is my favourite of his newer work, not for the technique though, I love the circular canvas. We’re so used to seeing art on rectangular canvases I think it just gives us a new perspective on how the canvas we use can completely change our work. Also that’s something to think about metaphorically.

6. The LG Damien Hirst set up matches well with his new ventures in the nft art world. It makes me question what the future of art shows could be. Because digitally, the same piece of art could be displayed across art galleries in the whole world on tvs, but this isn’t done yet. The ideas and crossovers physical and digital produce is a large thinking point to my personal brand and I want to be asking those questions about what is possible through my catwalks or installations.

7. Amazing digital display of noise disturbance, using sensations and outside influence to create digital patterns that allow for artwork to be unpredictable and not replicable, which is a massive selling point.

8. A glitch canvas using embroidery. I think it’s amazing how this effect was created using embroidery as it really is the perfect medium to weave and intwine threads together how you want, creating a beautifully blurred image.

9. This sculpture caught my eye from across the room, I love the creepiness of it, it seems like you’re taken back to a dark vengeful era. I want my designs on just mannequins to give this creepy vibe. That it could be a person standing there in the outfit but you just can’t tell.

10. Another canvas ,made from threads. The lurex threads in different directions means the light was reflecting a different way for each direction. It’s quite similar to the 3D effects shown in (3.). It reminds me of when I was pattern cutting velvet in second year and my tutors made me cut all the patterns with the bottom hems facing the same direction to avoid the light hitting different ways. I wanted my velvet coat to look sleek so I complied, however I did think, why can’t I cut it different directions for a purposeful effect. This artwork reminded me of how that could look. So it’s definitely something I want to sample.

Art Gallery research is such an in depth cultural experience and allows us to see both past and present responses to the world. Artists explore so many different concepts and problems and then display that through different choices of mediums. This shows us the unbelievable possibilities for fashion if we think about our work how artists do. I think personally rather than making a collection that captures my entire projects i want to think of each garment as its own art piece, and that each detail should be fully thought through and developed to reflect my overall concept. This way i can creat a strong collection each season and have each piece a masterpiece in its own right.

Knowing art throughout history gives you a great knowledge of how garments of the times reacted to it. In history we see a true relationship between art and Fashion. For example 1840s Fashion became more fluid and romantic after the rise of Pre-Raphaelite paintings emulating the Italian style artists ahead of their time. Also how 1960’s Fashion copied art direct to print. Pop art becoming screen prints, and Most famously the Mondrian Dress by YSL which highlighted the cubism era and how it was not only ahead of its time, but still relevant to the culture that developed years later.

Moving forward i need to take advantage of living in London and visit the galleries I have wished to for a long time. I believe we can truly predict future trends or cultural movements through what modern art is being created right now. In order to be that designer that is creating waves, i need to be aware and reactive to the cultural world around me. Knowledge is power.

Brand research : I ran past the Karl Lagerfeld store on my way to work one day and had to snap quick pictures. The store layout was so beautiful and captures really well my love for aesthetics. The visual merchandising really captures the brands look and highlights the products on offer. The brand is one of my favourites due to their colour palette of black, pink and silver being the same colour palette of my own personal wardrobe. Notice how from afar, just me walking past, the bright pink against the black caught my eye. It’s this level of bold I love.

Brand research : For this i tried an unconventional method of research. I choose to trust the universe as i am a firm believer of spirituality and creating my own destiny. Asking my spirit guides for guidance is usually a daily occurrence for me and is a big part of my own personal self care and well being. Whilst people may not believe, for me it has never failed to be wrong and always guides me in the right direction. It was important for me to document how i go about my discoveries through the world, tarot and spirituality being a vital one.

I decided to ask my spirit guides to lead me to one card that I can interpret for my focus in my designing. I chose my muse oracle cards as they’re focused around being a creative force, when shuffling this card fell out. I knew it was perfect. The 7 of inspirations meaning is to protect your inner light and pay attention to your energy. The card talks about making it and not being able to be broken down due to strength in your inner self. The graphics speak volumes to me. Instantly I noticed the bright colours against the black, something I have always used in my designing, i think black makes the brightest of colours pop in a way that reminds me of space, neon lights, nights in the city, 80s video games. A mixture of aesthetics I love. Secondly I noticed the black looking like space and the beam of light being the reality that is nature and earth. The card overall reminds me of the chart of the cone of possibilities presented to us on our first induction to the research, where the point at the top is the ideas where you start and the cone expands with the endless possibilities, I see the person on the card as me, pushing those possibilities wider. The person on the card is central to these possibilities, it made me realise the power I have to my own destiny in my design future. The central beam of light I see as a metaphor to what I’m trying to achieve, but also as a physical element to my designs. I love things that shine through the dark, lights, glitter, these things work best against black, meaning the features I put on my designs will contrast so well against black that they become the focus of my designs. I also love the shapes of the lines, I like using piping, the shapes you can create, and the way you can highlight the seams of your construction is a great concept to me. The way on a computer motherboard the intricate designs are made by where the wires need to go, why aren’t the seams and construction highlighted in designs, it shows the skill and workings of what went into the garment. And as pattern cutting is my strong point, I can really use this to my creative advantage.

I do not plan to use my tarot as an aesthetic for my branding or collections, but instead as a personal guide for growth and clarification in my research work. It is a big part of me as a person so it is an important part in the guidance of my work. I believe anything i am stuck on it can help me out with, so its great to have that support system in place when the processes of research and development can become over complicated and stressful.

Brand research : Forger App: to help develop my 3D modelling skills I bought the app Forger which I use with my iPad and Apple Pencil. Through this I can develop my own avatars which I can hopefully go on to use with 3D fashion prototyping. They give you a basic bust or body (male obviously, as it always is) and then you can mould it to however you want. It’s a really enjoyable new thing for me to work in 3D digitally, it gives you a great understanding of 3D work in real life.

It is really important for me to research and keep up to date with the ever changing technologies used in fashion. A large part of the brand i want to create is to remain current or even ahead of the heard in what i can provide to the world. Fashion is ever developing in the face of technology. I believe that working in 3D is a vital skill i can use towards prototyping, Advertising and even the production of digital NFTs or digital wearable fashion.

My thoughts right now are to possibly create my own avatar as my muse, it allows me the space to create my own vision and to give my customers a “dream”. A narrative that ties into my brand. Lil Miquela is a famous example of how well digital crossing into reality can be done, and also the success of the mystery and the story. It also allows me to display and show my work digitally. I want to continue developing my skills on Clo3D as i believe this will have many benefits for my brand and my own personal skill set. Using Clo3D will allow me to develop garments without the use of toiling fabrics, a sustainable option. It would also save on photo shoot costs as i could style avatars in my digital designs to display across social media and use in any advertisements. As i plan on creating Couture looks for the runway each season, i recognise that those pieces will be one-offs as i plan to make each garment complex. Realistically, these couture garments would not work well as my main business plan, they are simply too time consuming to create. I plan to have them as the heart and soul to my brand, my own full creative freedom in which will be the driving force for publicity. In order to be able to bring these looks to the public and make fashion more accessible to those with a genuine love for it. Selling my digital fashion at cheaper prices per item allows the world of fashion lovers to wear my outfits across social media, and also create the publicity on my behalf.

I believe this is a smarter way to make my creations sustainable and class inclusive all while creating a profit as people promote my designs online. (I don’t plan to have this as my main income, i will be creating a diffusion line, i believe the hype on social media will create demand for my products.) I can sell my digital designs through Farfetch’s new app for digital fashion called Dress X. This app had made digital wear incredibly easy, creating a digital wardrobe for the users. I know i should be jumping at the chance to do this in its early stages, and also be offering a way lower price per garment than the ones available at the moment. I don’t see why consumers should pay more money for something that isn’t tangible. We should also be encouraging the sales of digital art for social media purposes because of its sustainability and quite frankly the speed of fast fashion and social media trends produce too much textiles waste as influencers use items once per picture.

Entrepreneurship: Hard Rock Cafe Job: I was lucky enough to transfer from my job in Newcastle down to the flagship Hard Rock Cafe in Piccadilly to support me in my studies. I work in the shop which for me is great to continue to work with clothes daily. I know I bring a different take to retail due to my fashion and garment experience and this also benefits my own work. I have been allowed the opportunity to do the visual merchandising for the store which I will take and run with it. As a visual learner I get a lot of pleasure out of seeing things look visually pleasing and I think that creates amazing selling opportunities but also I also think it heightens customer experience. I have a lot of experience in VM and I think my standards are really high for it. It’s something I would want to maintain for whenever my own items are on display to sell. I also love the brand identity behind hard rock, it has its own personality. You can identify a Hard Rock Cafe anywhere, the place creates an experience so unique but it also makes so many people excited and feel like they belong. I’ve learnt so much from working within such a strong brand that I feel I now know how to take this on myself, those qualities carried by hard rock and it’s staff are transferable to our own personal lives.

Entrepreneurship: MAES: it’s great seeing the possibility of production for my brand. As someone who fell in love with the craft and has tried to learn everything possible in construction of garments in order to have the ability to make my outfits myself due to not being able to afford other options, I think seeing that I can still have the power of making my toiles or my first samples for runways and then I can outsource what’s to be sold was very eye opening and a massive relief. I really want to expand my brand and sell more than say as a sole trader, but I struggled with knowing where my responsibilities would lie, I want full control of the design process and every second of it is what inspires me, but it would be impossible to expand and make on my own. I really see growing as a possibility within my reach now and it’s not something I’m afraid of but instead excited and very ready for.

Research : Kensington palace royal dress exhibition: loved seeing Princess Diana’s wedding dress. As a complete anti royalist, Diana is one of the few members of the royal family I like. The dress is so unbelievably iconic, yet so out dated in todays society, no one would wear a dress like this today. I love how maximal the 80s dress was and how adding more was always more. The construction of this dress is actually quite basic and easy to replicate, the fabric is perfect for a wedding dress also as it holds a great structure for the skirt and the puff sleeves/ruffles. The dress resembles old standards of English dress which shows the standards of the royal family staying within traditions even in garments. I loved the toiles too as it showed me even the most skilled of designers and makers have to perfect their concepts of design beforehand. The trims used on royal garments are really similar to what I like to do myself, being that heavily embellished, I find the irony quite interesting as I come from the complete opposite background to these royals, I’d like to see it as something I’m reclaiming, that I too can wear heavily embellished clothing.

It is an important part of research to not only inform ourselves on the importance of fashion history but to actively be discovering more about the history of the industry we are in. As a designer it is vital to be able to pick apart how garments will have been made in the past, whilst technology and trends have changed, so much about the craft has continued to stay traditional and stand the test of time. I can use old techniques and redesign in a way never seen before due to updated fabrics and the freedom of creativity in these times. A true skill i have developed over time is being able to understand the full construction process of a garment by looking closely at all the details. I find it interesting to see how in the past some things may have been seen as high class or revolutionary in dress, but today its outdated or overdone.

Historical research will always be one of my favourites as usually it involves an experience, like an exhibition or museum. I think being in touch with history, societies and Civilisations is an important part of just being on this earth as it keeps us in touch with our ancestors and spiritual self. Therefore historical research will always be an integral part of the process for me, whether it inspires outfits and collections or not, it will teach me more about the world and the couturiers that came before me.

Research: Kensington Palace trip: you’d think in an amazing place like Kensington palace filled with art, that as a designer I would be inspired by the history of the palace and the art through the centuries. However I was inspired entirely by the curtains, frames and wallpapers. I love how curtains main function is to keep light out of indoor rooms yet it turned into something quite creative. The different ways you can drape the fabric to frame the windows is so interesting to me. It gives a whole atmosphere to a room and completely dresses the area. I love the trims used also. I think there’s something really powerful about curtain trims. They can be quite heavy and quite voluminous, but the purpose is purely decorative, I love the idea of trying to modernise curtain trims, as they are something that hasn’t really changed over decades, they’re not as trendy in interior design anymore, but there’s something so beautiful about this small part of textiles history that was so integral to curtains in the past that just never developed past it’s prime.

I also fell in love with a room that was under construction. The statues were covered up for their protection. As a lover of all things dark and futuristic it really felt like a sort of dystopia we had walked into during our trip through the past. That picture of the room could have so many narratives to it, it could be interpreted in many ways. I think I like to see it as if we are covering up the history we are ashamed of without really ever changing it. Leaving a dark energy looming over. Seeing something that creates such a powerful atmosphere like this gives me ideas for how i can showcase my work myself. Notable work that comes to mind is Gareth Pugh FW 2017, McQueen SS 2001 and Louis Vuitton SS 14. These i can evaluate in the future to see whether shows like this work well for my branding. But also how possible it is at such an early stage in a fashion label with limited budget. Creativity will have to come into play getting the effects i want with limitations in place.

Research: incredible talk at Liberty’s which got me re inspired. Something I’ve spent years learning and discovering about is the importance of fabrics. The fabrics hold a true key to the design process, it makes the structure, holds the colour, print, texture, it creates the movement, informs on possibilities of creation. The fabric is the true setting stone to design, seeing a place that loves and cherishes high quality fabric and has continued to do so for centuries really sets the standards of what our fabrics should be.

I loved seeing the furniture and rugs, rugs have inspired my yarns and patterns in the past, I think there is something really sacred about owning something that can last longer than your own lifetime, furniture is really designed to do this. It got me thinking. I realised in the past textiles for furniture and clothing were not too dissimilar, the quality was high, the techniques the same, only difference is the trends. Over time we have seen clothing fabric RAPIDLY decrease in quality to cater for a capitalist ideal of fast moving trends and fast selling product. Whilst in furniture, the decline in quality of fabrics used hasn’t been too drastic. For good furniture, we buy what will last us a lifetime, as usually it will be used every day for the rest of our lives. Why isn’t that mindset the same with clothes. Why are we not as a society buying what will last us a lifetime. Studies have shown that garments have an average life cycle of around 4-6 years (see graph) and it can be completely dependant on many factors. This is something i must consider in my design and structure if I really want to encourage people to be buying for longevity.

Durability is not at the forefront. I have collected old curtains from charity shops for years and intend on using them for my initial test collection.