The True Meaning of Being Melissa Australia

We at the Sydney Melissa HQ have been thinking a lot about identity lately. With months working from home, isolated and communicating digitally with our retailers and customers (our Melissa fam), we became introspective. It was time, we decided, to take a deep dive into who exactly we are and what we stand for.

So when the fab team at Tirade World magazine contacted us to work together on a fashion editorial that also interviewed 7 amazing Australians and asked their honest thoughts about diversity, identity and what is unique about us as a culture - we literally jumped out of our Melissa boots! 

The notions of identity and individuality are at the core of Melissa DNA. Melissa, of course, is a Brazilian shoe company that is known the world over for its vegan, sustainable footwear. But Melissa is about a lot more - it's a means of expression; a way for us to be unique and show our sense of fun.

As Ava (above) says:

"Conversations regarding diversity and differences are so important because we as a society have been conditioned to think that one way is the best way. Subconsciously ruling our individuality as negative because we don’t look, think or act the way those who are being praised do. It’s time to take back what’s uniquely ours; our identities, our heritage, our our traditions and our appearances."

Together with Tirade we were able to ask some real people some important questions, and in the process put Melissa into a local context. Melissa is diverse, multicultural and filled with style - just like all our interviewees.

What we have come to rediscover is that Melissa is genderless, modern, and adaptable. It is concerned about the environment and the impact of our lives on the planet. Melissa is also a community, and together we would like to discuss what is on our minds, whilst being mindful of others.

As Bona (above) points out:

"Being Australian means being cognisant of isolation from the wider world because of distance but appreciating and revelling in that isolation from the globe as it makes us unique. I think that this isolation manifests itself in facets of Australia like the fauna and flora, even to our accents, mannerisms, and definitively unapologetic attitude. To be Australian is also to occupy a small space on an entire continent, while rarely realising the magnitude of Australia."

Melissa is a way for us to express our true selves literally anywhere. Wear them out or literally into the sea, Melissa allows us to tell our own unique stories, whilst looking hot at the same time.

Perhaps it can be best summed up by Zoe (above):

"Being an Australian to me means learning our neo-culture just as much as learning our history. The ground on which we stand, the people that came before us, and the history that may not be so past as we like to imagine. Now, being a young Australian to me, that’s pretty simple: to educate each other. And yes, the sun adds to the appeal."

For the full article in Tirade World, click here