French-Canadian designer Melissa Bolduc is the name behind the sophisticated but simple, complex but comfortable clothing label Melow. She studied fashion design in Vancouver, graduated in 2005 and has been working as a designer for the past seven years. Although she’s never worked in any other part of the industry, she knew she wanted to work in fashion from a young age.
“[When] I was about 9 years old, I was drawing fashion and dresses. I had several booklets I [called] “My Beauty Catalogues,” she says. “Also, I playing with old curtains or with my mother’s wedding dress. I had the magazine ‘La Mariée 1992 (The Bride 1992)!’ Of course, I liked the wedding dresses because they very much looked like princess gowns.”
Melissa describes her own style as both “comfortable and stylish” (“I like to wear boots!” she adds) and that definitely comes through in her designs. The ideal woman to be wearing her clothes has a similar style as well.
“She likes to play with her clothes, and adjust it to her different moods. She likes strong and timeless pieces. Quality is important to her.”
One of Melissa’s biggest accomplishments as a designer is that she’s been able to create a brand that understands women, their needs and their different body types. “I often get comments from customers about how great they feel when they are wearing my clothes. And how well everything looks on them,” she says. A lot of the time in the fashion industry, anything other than a sample size isn’t considered “fashion.” This is something Melissa feels strongly about. “Every women should find clothes that flatters their silhouettes. I think I can do this very well.”
To Melissa, fashion is something that can make or break your day. It can make you feel good and then it can make you feel bad, depending on the day and of course, what you’re wearing.
“I’m trying to make women feel good about themselves, about how they look, no matter their shapes, weight or silhouettes.”
Check out Melissa’s label Melow here.
Fashion Designer Melissa Bolduc’s favourite…
Designers: Yoji Yamamoto and Ann Demeulemeester Clothing brands: I love Japanese brands - I love how they put attention to details Reading material: Gap Press, New Look, Tachen Fashion, la collection du Kyoto Costume Institute Websites: Pantone and Pinterest Part about being a designer: The fast pace. I like how crazy it gets at some points, and then everything comes together. I love the creative part of course, but also the mood we are building around a collection. It's great.
