Melicia Partab-Alli:
Melicia Partab-Alli has been the name behind makeup and a number of gorgeous fashion pieces in pageantry for several years and this week, she afforded The Scene a look into her journey to the fashion world.
Makeup artist (MUA) and designer are just two of the titles Melicia holds. In addition, she is the Co-Director of Miss Global International Guyana, Miss India Worldwide Guyana and Mrs India Worldwide Guyana, the other Co-Director being her husband, Hashim Alli. She is also a marketing professional at Massy Distribution (Guyana) Inc. But to her the most prestigious title is mother; she and her husband have a son, Zayid.
“Growing up as a child,” Melicia said, “I was always blessed to receive Barbie dolls as presents. They always amazed me with the type of outfits they wore and how pretty they looked. I wanted one day to be able to own a wardrobe of such and to be a fashionista. Once I had a lot of money to buy it all of course.
“However, as I grew older, I learnt how to spend wisely and where I needed to focus my money, which was on necessities; glamorous outfits not making the cut. Later in life when Hashim and I began our journey, he came home one day and told me this heart-wrenching story that drove me to start designing. He explained the situation of a family looking for matching outfits in a store and after learning of the cost realized it was too much for their budget. Their child really wanted the outfit and couldn’t understand why his parents were not taking it, until they explained. It was then and there Hashim and I came to an ultimatum, people should be able to dress nicely and not spend an arm and leg. We asked ourselves ‘what it was that we can do to help others in this situation?’ This is how Nachle Designs was birthed.”
She now owns a well-composed wardrobe of one-of-a-kind outfits that she sometimes lends out.
Melicia is self-taught. Given her admiration for makeup she began practicing on herself until she was confident of her talent to begin taking on clients. As regards designing, she took this on with her husband. Together they learnt about fabrics and styles using the ones that appealed to them the most.
In terms of the makeup profession, she is inspired by a long list including Saleha Abbasi, Alina Naeem Khan, Tamanna Roashan, Sadaf Farhan, Riz Khan, Michelly Palma, Jeffre Star, James Charles and Jaclyn Hill. She noted that their unique takes on makeup push her to keep evolving her talent while trying to be extraordinarily different and this led to her creating her brand ‘Eye Candy By Mel’.
As regards design Melicia could not point to specific inspirations but said that she gathers all things glitz and glam oriented mostly from Bollywood and the West and never forgets to give it a “twist of Mel. I prefer not to dress similar to everyone but to dress totally different, to spark and grab your attention as I enter the room wearing the clothing rather than have the clothing wearing me, since I would walk with the highest amount of confidence. Now that’s the wow factor!”
Both talents, the artist said are her ways of expressing herself on loud speakers. They show her personality well as it relates to boldness in the trend and high energy in the impact of colour. She does not seek the approval of others, what really matters is her satisfaction with the pieces she creates, knowing she would have done her best. Both have afforded her the opportunity to adapt, improve and elevate in a world that is constantly evolving.
Melicia acknowledges her biggest supporters to be Hashim and other family members who have always pushed her to be the best version of herself, while being a stronghold in not only support but guidance also. Close friends, too, she added have become like family.
Though she grew up as a Hindu, Mel was not very religious, though she does consider herself to be spiritual. Her marriage, she shared, was a Nikkah which she accepted to be converted to Islam. However, culturally Mel is involved in many religious festivities as this is widely part of being a Guyanese. She does not believe that one should limit oneself to only embrace one’s religion’s holidays but should also embrace them all with genuine acceptance and respectfulness.
Being a designer in Guyana she noted has presented two main challenges for her: the limited variety of materials available and the overpricing of these fabrics. Over the years, however, she has managed to deal with this having made links with sources that provide beautiful fabrics from other countries at an affordable cost.
As a MUA, Melicia’s challenge was creating her clientele which she admitted came through determination and continuous hard work.
Currently Mel is enjoying working with floral prints. “It is an inspirational phase that I am totally feeling that blossoms really well, especially in the coral shades and toned with rose gold accents,” she said. Asked whether she has a signature look when it came to Nachle Designs, she said there isn’t one noting that each line is different and guarantees that each piece brings with it, elegance and a hint of bold sassiness. Nachle Designs is always able to produce the finest pieces, Mel said, because she has the finest team.
While she easily picked a favourite material to work with, it was not as simple when it came to which her favourite makeup brands to use as she likes working with Morphe, Juvia’s Palace, Fenty, MAC, Black Radiance, Wet N Wild, Jordana, Loreal, Maybelline, NYX, LA Girls and J Cat. Melicia loves working with bright colours and infusing a touch of glitter.
Asked which two makeup items she