Cool Hunting

The reigning queen of plastic injected shoes, Melissa, is now set out to conquer the world with more designer collaborations and a global push. While the sneak peek at their summer 2009 line will get hearts beating with excitement, the bigger news is that it's making a push to capture more female suitors by pushing Melissa as a global brand with a soon-to-come online shop. It's an effort that, if the time-tested popularity of these candy-smelling goodies outside of Brazil at Colette and Opening Ceremony is any indication, will see positive responses.

In fact, an already-launched initial worldwide advertising campaign lets Melissa-holics stay current via a special site. A recently-introduced companion part chronicles the history of the brand and 130 iconic models from Karim Rashid's to the Campana Brothers' contributions—well worth a look to understand the growth of the Melissa phenomenon.

Summer 2009 sees an incredibly designed shoe by 2004 Pritzker Prize-winner Zaha Hadid (top right) that looks it came directly off her drawing table. The rest of the usual suspects—Alexandre Herchcovitch (above right), Fiorucci (above left), Thais Losso, among others—have updated their collections with fresh models as well. Check the site's newly resurrected blog to hear about new updates.