History
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THE GENESIS
Founded in 2011 in San Francisco, the Melange movement was the genesis of local leaders passionate about advocating for more diversity in the arts. In the first year, Melange secured Nicole Miller as a partner for the show, as well as launched a multi-year relationship with Sephora as the official makeup sponsor. Diverse artists, performers, models and designers, including Igor Galas (as featured in Vogue), traveled from Croatia, New York, South Africa, and more, to participate in the first Melange show at the San Francisco Design Center on August 6, 2011.
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CELEBRITY SUPPORT
Over the years, Melange has included performances from celebrity guest stars from America’s Got Talent, American Idol, MTV’s Real World, America’s Next Top Model, RuPaul’s Drag Race, America’s Next Best Dance Crew, and more. Melange also was hired by Bossini Boutique to produce a show featuring the Versace Spring/Summer 2012 Collection and led an associated fashion photo shoot with Porsche of Steven’s Creek. Subsequently, Autodesk also chartered Melange to produce their fashion show for Design Night for two years in a row, as Melange’s presence increased in the technology and arts community.
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GLOBAL TRACTION
In more recent years, Melange was given the honor of presenting The Melange Lifetime Achievement Award to Jean Paul Gautier in-person at the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco. Select ready to wear clothes from Jean Paul Gaultier were also featured on the Melange catwalk. In terms of international expansion, Melange partnered with the official City Hall of Rio de Janiero to produce two fashion arts events as part of the World Cup and the Olympics festivities in Brazil. In 2015, Melange was also an official production partner as an Executive Producer for Elie Wiesel’s world premier of The Choice debuting at Harvard University.
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EMERGING TALENT
Although the Melange movement has attracted notable names from the arts community, the real stars of Melange are the emerging artists launched by the Melange platform– such as 5’5'' Philipina model Nicole Bonifacio, who has since landed a national campaign with the likes of Hollister and has traveled the world modeling for fashion shows. Another Bay Area native and proud African American, Thomas Goward, who has now since been featured in music videos as a dancer for Beyonce and Usher, is just another artist who has leveraged the supportive and nurturing Melange community to manifest his dreams.
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NEW YORK CITY
Given the global growth, the Melange movement has gained traction in New York City and the first Melange debut event for NYC will take place on February 22, 2018 as part of Black History Month. If you have interest in learning more and being a part of this historic event, please follow us on Facebook and click Melange NYC for more information about becoming a part of the Melange community.
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INTERNATIONAL PRESS
Melange has been featured in over 50+ different press inclusions (including both print and online) in both international and domestic press. Select highlights are included below:
"A visual feast of performance art and couture" - SF Chronicle
"Celebrates diversity in fashion" [translated] - Jornal du Brasil
"Promotes human rights & diversity" [translated] - Peru.com
"Melange 2015 in San Francisco" - CNN
"A colorful mix of edgy and innovative looks" - SF Gate
"Featuring Models from 18 to 67 Years Old" - Bonde
"A Global Celebration: - Couture Press
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PAST PARTNERS
Over the past 6 years of the Melange movement, we have had the honor of working with the following partners, designers, and celebrities for our fashion shows:
Past Partners & Sponsors:
Sephora
Jean Paul Gaultier
Nicole Miller
KIND Bar
City Hall of Rio de Janeiro
AsiaSF
The Regency Center of San Francisco
Gordon Biersch
Donald J. Pliner
Phyto
Past Celebrities & Models
Madeline Stuart
Katiti Kironde
Guila Clara Kessous
Bill Guttentag
Davey Havok
Tyson Beckford
Corey Wade
Ilya Grad
Rain Dove
Nicole Bonifacio
Thomas Goward
Laganja Estranja
Past Designers
Onch Movement
Punk Kouture
Igor Galas
Topher Adam
Glynneth B. Jewelry
Varignia Garcia
Stevie Boi
Magdalena Koziej
Michal Wojciak