Melissa Odabash

Melissa Odabash

Model turned designer Melissa Odabash is a London-based swimwear and beachwear designer. She was born in the United States on 18th April, 1970. Her career started off as a swimwear model in Italy. With a flair for designing and an eye for fashion, she started creating her own swimwear designs which she stitched and sold at various boutiques in Milan. Melissa’s original designs gained worldwide recognition and made their way onto the covers of various fashion magazines like Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, InStyle, Elle and Tatler in no time. The Zebra print bikini of hers became the best selling product in the Victoria’s Secret catalogue of 1998.

With her exotic and sensual designs crafted from superior fabrics designed to make women feel like goddesses, Melissa has proved her mettle to the fashion world that she comes second to none. Her swimwear is designed keeping women of all body types in mind; be it the hourglass figure, the pear shape or a figure that is slightly on the heavier side, Melissa’s got something for everyone. What makes her swimwear the best of the best is that she uses fine twisted elastic sewn into linings for that barely-there look unlike the uncomfortable underwire and bulky padding. The high end swimwear collections consist of halter necks, onesies, bandeau tops and briefs decorated with beads, embroidery, shells and buckles.

In 1999, The Melissa Odabash’s swimwear collection was launched which soon became known to the world as the ‘Ferraris of the bikini world’, after the British Vogue coined the term. Melissa Odabash is not only a swimwear designer but a jewelry, ready-to-wear, accessories and beachwear designer too. Today, Melissa’s collections are sold internationally in over 48 countries in high end department and specialty stores like Harrods, Selfridges, Neiman Marcus, Harvey Nichols and Saks Fifth Avenue. In 2007, Melissa’s first flagship store sprang up in West London at Notting Hill followed by the opening of another store in Chelsea.

From glamorous bikinis to elegant kaftans and breathtakingly gorgeous evening dresses, Melissa Odabash has become a household name for the rich and famous when it comes to luxury lifestyle brands. Heidi Klum, Kate Moss, Rihanna, Cheryl Cole and Cindy Crawford are some of the stars seen wearing Melissa Odabash designs when holidaying. To keep up with the ever-growing demand of her successful brand, Melissa has collaborated with many celebrities and famous brands. She teamed up with Alexandra Burke for designing costumes and co-developed a coffee table book with Bryan Adams for the 75th Anniversary of Speedo. She also came up with a ‘perfect bikinis line’ in partnership with Gwyneth Paltrow for GOOP, her lifestyle website. But that’s not all; Melissa also recreated swimsuits for Naomi Watts starring in ‘Diana’ and ‘Impossible’. For ‘Diana’, she designed two swimsuits; a light blue swimsuit fit for blue blood with paisley print and another one in aquamarine. In collaboration with her long time friend Julien MacDonald, Melissa has designed some of the statement pieces for two of their capsule collections breaking all boundaries in swimwear.

The queen of swimwear Melissa Odabash has also made many television appearances like becoming a correspondent for France 24 during the Royal Wedding and mentored models in Ireland and Britain’s Next Top Model. She also gave fashion advice on Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two.