Jean Paul Gaultier and Brazilian footwear label Melissa hatched their first collaboration 40 years ago — considered a forerunner of brand tie-ups — and then reunited three more times over the years.
The two brands are together again with a limited-edition capsule collection to mark the milestone. It consists of two punk-inspired shoes dropping Friday at the Galeria Melissa flagship boutique in New York City, Melissa Clubes locations, select multibrand stores in the U.S., and on Shopmelissa.com.
Related Stories
What hasn’t changed is a commitment to striking design: The Punk Love Pump is built on a puffy silhouette with a blocky heel and then encased in a cage of spike-studded transparent straps that grip the ankle and instep. According to Melissa, the style straddles “romantic goth, light punk and ’80s hardcore.”
You May Also Like
The Becky Punk Love, which comes in black, white, pink or lilac, is a platform slide that anchors the foot with five transparent straps, also studded with metallic spikes, adding a “fetishistic fashionable touch,” the brand said.
Both are made from Melflex, a proprietary material billed as vegan, 100 percent reyclable and composed of at least 30 percent recycled material. Soles are made of EVA.
French artist Jean-Vincent Simonet, who recently photographed Kylie Jenner for a Jean Paul Gaultier ready-to-wear campaign, returned to capture the Melissa X Jean Paul Gaultier shoes, around which swirl unusual flowers or cloud-like apparitions.
Gaultier’s first collaboration with Melissa, when the brand was only four years old, hinged on a sneaker with cutouts on the sides and the toecap. Additional co-branded shoes were released in 1986, 2010 and 2011, bringing to seven the total number of styles the partnerships produced.
Considered a pioneer in “jelly” shoes, Melissa has produced more than 50 million pairs in the last 25 years, and collaborated with the likes of Thierry Mugler, Karl Lagerfeld, Vivienne Westwood, Jeremy Scott, Comme des Garçons, Jason Wu, Opening Ceremony, Marine Serre, Viktor & Rolf, and Y/Project.