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BY MODE MAGAZINE
Mel Ezcuore’s artistic eye and trendsetter spirit are a seed nourished by her family or artisans. Originally from Colombia, Mel comes from a family that has worked with leather, footwear, and handbags for over 45 years. She developed a passion for leather and footwear at an early age and as she grew up, she realized that the type of art she was passionate about was the art that you can turn into a product for people to want to use. Mel also realized that through art she could communicate a message to have a major impact, and that she could take inspiration from things happening in society to create something meaningful.
With her passion clearly defined, Mel ventured into the fashion design industry. She acquired her bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design in Colombia and ambitious to grow her talent and knowledge and work on her family’s legacy, she acquired a full scholarship at “Domus Academy and Arsutoria Leather School” in Milan, where she would have the opportunity to further her fashion education while working hands-on with high fashion brands.
While working on her master’s degree in Styling and Visual Merchandising in Milan, Mel had the opportunity to work for several high fashion brands.
Her strong suit was developing concepts as she can gather inspiration from anything and anywhere, she can make a concept out of the simplest thing and turn it into an idea of infinite possibilities and her experience in Milan taught her that footwear is auniversal language, that art and the ability to create things with your hands speaks for itself. She worked on the development of collections focusing on leather and despite the academic challenges and language barrier, Mel was able to thrive and climb her way up. Her urgency to speak the language and desire for opportunities had her speaking fluent Italian in a few months. After completion of her master’s program, she acquired a second scholarship and went back to school where she specialized in leather and handbags. She had the opportunity to work with well-known brands such as Ferragamo, Moncler, Vogue, and others and each taught her aspects of art, creation, and fashion that she wanted to incorporate in her future projects and will later use as a foundation for her own brand. From the creation of the concept to the selection of textiles, final product presentation, and showroom appearance, Mel fell in love with the neat and meticulous process of creating statement pieces.
The idea of Melvolente was born on a train in Europe when Mel started brainstorming name ideas for her own brand, an idea that she had been playing with for a while. Mel wanted her brand to be a signature of her, a piece of her character, and given that she is a highly spiritual person, she researched a term that would reflect this. After thorough research, she learned that apostles when signing letters would include the wording “Deo Volente”, which in Latin makes reference to God’s divine will. She added her name Mel to the word Volente and Melvolente was born; Mel’s divine will. Melvolente was created to be a fashion religion, a statement to inspire people. While the brand is inspired by Latin American and indigenous roots, it seeks to deviate from the typical Caribbean tropical colors, and rather focus on the less common side of Latin America, on the barren lands, the cold temperatures, and the mountain range. While still in Milan, Mel worked with her family back in Colombia to craft the first prototypes of Melvolente footwear, and finally in 2018 she got to present it for Micam,
a benchmark event for dealers in the footwear industry all over the world Mimcam recognized the potential and uniqueness of Melvolente, the quality and futuristic look the product caught the attention of the fashion industry in Europe. She was recognized as an emerging designer and throughout 2019 Melvolente had sell points in France, Belgium, and Germany.
The pandemic came in 2020 and as many brands did, Melvolente took this time to reinvent itself and find a way to create a luxury statement piece, while at the sametime a sustainable environmentally-friendly product, ultimately sending a powerful message on the importance of taking care of Earth, our home. Melvolente was reborn as a sustainable brand, using sustainable leather and recycled materials. During this time, Mel came back to El Paso where her family had been established for over 10 years, and she had the time to fully discover the potential of the city and the endless possibilities of it being a border town. In 2022 Melvolente. was relaunched and this time better than ever as it was a fully defined brand with a bigger purpose. The brand is about integrity and exclusivity and with this in mind, Mel is very meticulous about where she decides to showcase her products. She is currently working with two concept stores in New York, The Canvas and Metavelso, both of which aim to make a positive impact in the world and uphold the same values Melvolente does.
Through Melvolente, Mel seeks to impact people, motivate them to work on their dreams and conquer their fears. The slogan became “made for real people who walk with purpose” in an effort to inspire people to step out of their comfort zone, to be the most real and best version of themselves, and most importantly, to use their voice and make an impact. Melvolente isn’t a shoe to wear to fit in, it’s a statement piece to stand out.
