Karl Lagerfeld's New Surprising Collaboration with Footwear Label Melissa

When I got my first look at the collection of heels designed by the Father of Fashion, Karl Lagerfeld,  for sustainable footwear label Melissa* I was more surprised to see how fun, young, and quirky the styles of the heels were considering the classic motifs of CHANEL and the off-point concept and design of a pair of original Melissa shoes. All of the shoes created by the Melissa brand are made out of 100% recycled rubber, which has made the label known for making "childhood jelly sandal" like heels and flats. The rubber material may not intrigue as many customers as structured and leather shoes. However, the use of the recycled rubber makes Melissa one of the few sustainable shoe labels that have committed to being consistent with following their main cause. This is what makes Melissa so appealing for big designers to collaborate with: the Eco-friendly approach to the material, manufacturing, and production that Melissa Shoes is praised for by many fellow Eco-conscious people in fashion, which opens new doors to new endeavors that well established designers have yet to endure. So when Melissa participates in exclusive design collaborations, the collaborating designer gets the chance to add ecological credentials to both their own and brand's image in fashion and other interconnecting industries.

  "Ice Cream Heeled Shoes" from the Karl Lagerfeld for Melissa collaboration (available on ASOS.com)

     CHANEL has never been notorious for being sustainable in the choices of materials, manufacturing, and promotion of products due to its luxury fashion brand status.  Not that Karl hasn't been hounded by the press for sometimes being oblivious to his lavish lifestyle and unrealistic when describing his target market that excludes "fat people". This collaboration takes away a few layers of Karl's luxe superficiality away, as his designs are quirky and the perfect contribution to add just the right amount of character to a pair of Melissa heels. Karl and CHANEL are definitely some of the most respected and pristine names in fashion's past, present and future. With both designers contributing their own unique approaches to designing, they both were able to learn from each other. Karl's participation may have given him a newly respected Eco-friendly reputation and the chance to let his leather and chainlink guard down. The designers of Melissa got to work with a legend and realized the crucial benefits to designer collaborations when still struggling to gain mega recognition for their brand. With this collaboration and experience, they are now easily generating buzz and connecting to a much wider and receptive fashion audience that can only add more fuel and success to the Melissa label. 

**Sustainable footwear label, Melissa adds its ecological credentials to a quirky collection of shoes and boots. 100% recycled rubber is re-moulded into an off-beat edit of peep-toe heels and flats all with signature candy scents. Look to exclusive design collaborations alongside Melissa’s own covetable styles.