Just a while ago, we were talking about getting your own custom fashion accessories on the website, whether that happens to be a rebellious patch on your denim jacket or a classy monogram on your scarf/diary/bag. So, in pursuit of individual style that stands out, and doesn’t blend in, we’re proposing something better — nothing says make-it-your-own more than a pair of Melissa shoes that has your own strokes of (genius) paint on it.
Earlier in March, artist Zixi Tan, from MessyMsxi.com collaborated with our favourite purveyor of jelly shoes, all for a fun workshop that sees Melissa shoes as the artistic canvas for her expression of identity and style. The shoe brand has collaborated with countless designers, including Karl Lagerfeld, J. Maskrey, the Campana Brothers, Jason Wu, and most recently Jeremy Scott, but while those are carefully crafted in factories far away from here, there’s a thrill of creating art here, right in front of your eyes. Here’s what she created on the Melissa Beach Slide, Ultragirl and Mar, respectively.
If you don’t fancy yourself a very crafty person, you may take part in our giveaway contest here, where we’re giving away those three pairs of Zixi’s customised designs. Other than that, we’d suggest the whole D-I-Y route. Pick up a couple of paints and paintbrushes at ArtFriend, and devote a few hours to this project — judging by the stuff that the workshop participants have come up with, it’s worth it. Naturally, to match the bright candy shades of the shoes, Zixi opted for tropical shapes and colours. To give you a bit of a head start, here are some helpful instructions she kindly provided:
Materials needed:
– Plastic paint palette
– Acrylic paint, in an assortment of colours
– Paintbrushes
– Pencil
– Melamine sponge eraser
– ‘Wanna be Carioca’ paper template (at the end of this post)
– A pair of Melissa shoes
How To:
1. Choose or create the ideal graphics you would like to paint on the shoes.
2. Be creative and plan your colour palette. *Extra tip! Choose up to five colours so your design won’t look too complicated.
3. You may want to practise painting on the ‘Wanna be Carioca’ paper template before going straight to your shoes.
4. Once you’re confident of colour choices and graphics, you may start doodling and painting on one shoe. If you make a mistake, use the melamine sponge eraser to correct your mistakes.
5. For each painting coat, let it dry for 5 minutes before going over it again.
6. While waiting, you may want to move to the other shoe.
7. An average of three coats will make your painting bold and opaque.
And that’s it! Be proud of your work — even if the lines aren’t the straightest, or the tips aren’t as fine as you’d like, at least you’ll end up with something that no one in the world/universe has. That’s quite a feat!
All Melissa shoes, available at MDREAMS Wheelock Place and MDREAMS One Raffles Place. mdreams.com.sg.
Download the ‘Wanna Be Carioca’ template below.
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