NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
At the genesis of her career, young designer Therese Melliza takes a bite from the tree of knowledge with her graduation collection entitled “The Reimagined”
Therese Melliza takes her avante-garde aesthetic to the street
In the beginning, there was nothing. Scientists believe it was the Big Bang theory, theologians say it was God who created life on earth. But whichever one chooses to believe in, the bottom line is—we are entities whose existence serve reason and purpose. In the Bible, God created Eve for Adam when he took her from his rib. Set in the beautiful Garden of Eden, it was a paradise for the man and woman and all the living creatures until Eve was tempted by the snake and they were banished.
This was the same tale that inspired Therese Melliza, a young designer from Saint Benilde. “I had an idea of Eve because of Dua Lipa’s song called ‘Garden,’” Therese recalls. “I thought of Eve as someone who is not being talked about more in the story when in fact she shows the vulnerabilities of being human. I found her character interesting.” That is where it all began. She started heeding what she believed her purpose was—creating something that would impact the world even through small victories. With Eve as the protagonist, Therese weaved a story through her clothes. “As I was conceptualizing the story of my collection, I was inspired by women of today,” shares the young designer. “I want to redefine the stereotypical femininity by using unique silhouettes done through laser-cut technique, as well as the use of gradients.”
The day of Benilde’s annual grad show “Sinulid” came forth and there was an abundance of fresh talent and hunger for success in what an outsider would think as an unforgiving industry. Ultimately, Therese was able to bag one of the major awards of the year. “I’m not afraid to create different designs. I love the unusual.” It’s this grit and fearlessness that would lead her to find Paradise, her own Garden of Eden. And we are just in the beginning.