JCA Class of 2022: Melissa-Kate

In October, the first cohorts of Jimmy Choo’s JCA | London Fashion Academy’s MA Fashion Entrepreneurship in Design and Brand Innovation course showcased their collections on the catwalk. Melissa-Kate used the opportunity to debut the third capsule collection from her year-long ‘For the Love of Venus’ series for her namesake demi-couture label.

Melissa-Kate’s label is influenced by the “power of divine feminine energy” through witchcraft and pin-up style. It offers bespoke demi-couture pieces that adapt to each wearer, using corsetry and draping to emphasise the female form in a seductive and empowering way.

‘For the Love of Venus PT.III,’ Melissa-Kate explores a theoretical pollical fashion trend on the planet Venus to create a collection filled with sexy silhouettes in a dark and moody colour palette that brings self-love and confidence to the wearer.

Emerging designer to watch: Melissa-Kate

Melissa-Kate is one of four students on JCA’s one-year MA Fashion Entrepreneurship in Design and Brand Innovation course that focuses on enterprise creation. Students on the course establish themselves as freelancers or micro-SMEs and are encouraged to develop a commercial enterprise from the outset. The school offers practice-based education in which students are professionally ‘incubated’ as aspiring designer-entrepreneurs to develop their crafts in professional studios.

Following her showcase, FashionUnited caught up with Melissa-Kate over e-mail to find out what inspired her collection, why she decided to continue her studies at JCA, and her advice for aspiring fashion designers.

What inspired your demi-couture collection?

All of my collections are inspired by unusual things in the world I want to learn more about, and I see where it takes me and how I react creatively to get to my final interpretation. As a perfect example, For the Love of Venus PT.III started as a concept where I delved into the conspiracy theory about Valient Thor. It was my understanding that he was a Venusian who crash-landed on earth to save us from nuclear bombs and tried to get all governments to agree not to use them. Of course, that failed.

It got me dreaming of this planet way more advanced than us, that lives in peace and harmony. I wondered if they’d have fashion trends like us and if there would be a goth girl equivalent out on Venus. Like, do they base their fashion on politics too? Because then surely their politics would be more reactive to interplanetary politics. This got me dreaming of a world where the “Melissa-Kate'' woman was also on Venus. Rebellious feminines who aim to be sexy and powerful, who base their fashion trends on the death and destruction of planet earth. It’s shocking and it’s slightly disrespectful but it’s very sexy.

I imagine the species across the entire universe would all follow highly spiritual beliefs like myself. Meaning these rebel Venusians are interested in pagan life and how pagans like myself use symbols and meanings to connect planet earth to our spirituality.

As I had seen an alarming amount of dead pigeons in my few months of creating this collection, they quickly became the symbol I used for the death and destruction on earth. All entirely self-conflicted and in front of our eyes, yet no one doing anything about it.

What fabrics/techniques did you use?

As for fabrics I always use leather, satins, silk taffetas and silk organza. They feel entirely perfect for my creative visions. Also, the irony of using dead animals in a collection inspired partly by a dead animal kind of adds to the symbolism of it all for me.

As for techniques, pretty much everything apart from seams and zips has been hand sewn. Mostly all by myself too. It’s something I’m really proud of regarding this collection and hopefully, in the future I’ll have more time per garment to add and develop even more hand-sewn embellishments.

My pattern cutting is the most complicated, corsetry and draping are all crafted by myself using various techniques. For example, the teardrop embellished stretch corset was crafted by stretching the fabric bias in a different direction for each panel to get a full shaping effect. And the skull corset was crafted entirely by days of trial and error to replicate a 3D skull head from thin lambskin.

Why did you choose the programme at JCA?

After finishing university during Covid I knew I was going to be stuck for a job or what my next steps would be. I consulted with my mentor, Shaun Kearney, Goop Designer and CFDA member, and he agreed I should further my skills in a master’s course which will also give me time to see what I can do next.

After applying to a few courses JCA stood out. Its course structure was about to set me up for launching my own label, a dream I’d had since I was a kid, but believed I’d never do as I’d have to work 30+ years for someone else first. Honestly, this place sold me a dream, so I went for it, and thought what’s the worst that could happen? But in fact, I am right now living that dream.

What impact would you like to have on the fashion industry?

Honestly, I’d like to be seen as someone who uses fashion as their art. I make collections as my one true passion in life, I’d still be doing it even if I had everything I needed in life. I want to make an impact as a pagan and alternative woman. My craft and who I am is so special to me and sharing that with the world and more importantly, the couture world would be insane. I want the world to stop seeing witchcraft as evil and taboo.

What advice would you give aspiring fashion designers?

You don’t need to listen to people around you all the time. Listen to your own instincts and develop your own creative method. My creative method has never fit with what you are marked against at university, it’s slightly all over the place but it works for me. Sometimes it’s about finding what fuels you to stay up all night not wanting to put down the needle and thread.