written by: Wanyee Liphotos by: Linda DongMelissa Ferreira says she brings new life into old pieces, and as I look around her studio, I can see it as well.  There are boxes upon boxes of recycled materials and vintage blazers and dresses, just waiting to be used in one of her designs.  This reflects Melissa’s value in sustainability and quality, something that undoubtedly has something to do with her move to the nature-surrounded city of Vancouver when she was 12 years old.  Every Adhesif piece is unique, hand-made from vintage cloth.  They are tailored, but whimsical designs that inspire both elegance and quirkiness. What’s not to like? Let’s talk about your vision for Adhesif and how you started. Well, I worked as a vintage clothing buyer for about 8 years.  I still kind of do it, depending on who’s asking.  But I worked for True Value Vintage, and some other vintage boutiques in town. I actually even travelled to India to train people how to look for salvageable clothing, like, western clothing stuff. And then I just thought there are so many amazing fabrics that just end up in landfills that can still be salvaged and used in place of new materials to create clothing, so I thought, why not. That’s kind of how the whole idea started. I really didn’t realize it would be so popular and I’m really happy about it. The timing was really good with the whole ecosystem sustainability movement, but that wasn’t my initial idea to create an ecofriendly brand. It was more that I just loved the fabrics so much and thought they would make really beautiful designs.Correct me if I am wrong, but, you weren’t raised in Vancouver am I right?I was raised in Montreal up until I was about 12 years old, and I moved here and I’ve been here ever since.. for a while now.My next question is, what do you like about Vancouver? Do you think it has influenced your line at all? I love Vancouver for the obvious reasons that everyone does; it’s a really gorgeous place to live. It’s really relaxed, it’s laidback. It’s a completely different vibe altogether. It actually took me a while to adjust to coming from a big boom city 15 years ago to city that was nothing like it is now, it’s really developed. It’s really starting to become a more progressive city, but it’s definitely more chill. There’s a definite relaxed vibe about it that I really love. I’m a pretty laidback, down to earth person. And in the sense of nature, yes, because I’m quite the environmentalist. I donate to Greenpeace and all that. I’d like to protect the environment, yes but aesthetically wise, people say, it makes sense that you’re from Montreal. They’re known for being very European influenced. I don’t really know where my aesthetic comes from but in a sense of pegging it down into a city, definitely love vintage clothing, so it’s almost like my contemporary take on a vintage piece.

What makes Adhesif unique, aside from the fact that, obviously, each piece is one-of-a-kind?Well I can definitely say that every single piece takes a huge – it’s quite a thought process, it’s very involving. I’d like to think that every single piece has a bit of me in it, in the sense of there’s so much personality that every single little piece has a breath of its own. So that can’t be duplicated. That’s very hard to try to teach someone to do, and I’ve had an intern now. I call her my assistant even though we don’t talk about it. It’s like, ‘hey intern, hey designer’. We’re more just buddies and we work really well together. She’s definitely on the same page as me creatively. But it’s taken years to try to train her to come up with compositions that mimic the aesthetic I’m looking for. Because I think everyone has their own take on how to put together patterns and stuff. In that sense, it’s very original and it cannot be reproduced so aside from the fact that every piece is one-of-a-kind, I can definitely say that it’s almost like creating paintings. It can’t be mimicked; it’s hard to try to teach that to somebody.Do you think that Adhesif is going to expand in that direction, since you have a new intern now and you’re going to have new ideas?Inevitably, I want to continue to create the designs in this way. I just think anything else would not be Adhesif and that’s not the vision or the long term idea I have for the line. With that said, I’m always…you never stop learning different ways to develop and progress and grow, which is where I find myself right now. Initially I thought it was just going to be this little professional hobby but it’s like more and more and more people are just…as things grow and progress, people are catching wind and want it. I’m faced with a ‘how do I mass produce and still stay grassroots and maintain that special desirable quality’ because once you start to mass produce, you lose the special-ness of it, and, that’s not the idea for it. I’m fine tuning every season, trying to find a way to mass produce and maintain a unique quality about it.You mentioned the long-term goals for Adhesif. Can you talk about that a little more? I have so many ideas, and they’re always shifting changing. I feel like I’m on this sort of ride or machine that is very well oiled and self-lubricated and it is just taking me on this journey, and I’m just open to many possibilities and I don’t want to say there is no way this would happen, but it is like its own life-form, this thing, this company that I created so I kind of let things go where they need to go.  But that being said, I would love to have my own boutique at some point.  I am not quite sure where that would be, but I do have quite the fan club here in this city and I don’t think it would make sense to have my first boutique anywhere else so that is definitely in the makes for the coming years, as well as many other things including film.  I don’t want to get too much into that because I don’t want to jinx myself but I would love to do costume designing for films and such.  With that said, I am celebrating because I just got a store in San Francisco, which is really exciting, and two new stores in Montreal.  I almost feel like I have to clone myself and the people I do have, because there is just a sort of common sense that happens.  The more you work with this style of clothing, the easier it becomes to decipher how to make the line work. So, I am looking for an intern.What are some of your favourite pieces for this season? This line is very feminine, and very whimsical, the pieces are pretty playful and colourful and fun.  But I think this is the most feminine and fun and light-hearted collection I have designed so far.  There are a lot of recycled silk scarves and lace detail.  With that said, my most favourite piece is the most androgynous-esque type piece, which are the suspend-shorts.  I just love the high waistband, I love the button detailing, and it is all made with recycled t-shirts, so it is very light, it doesn’t wrinkle, it is very easy to wear.  You can wear them now with tights and boots, or in the summer with sandals.  They are very comfortable, the back of the waist is elastic, and the waistband is very high, you all know how waists are very much in fashion right now, and the cat-eye buttons here are old, they are about about 50 year old shell buttons.  They are very special, but also very easy to wear.What pushed you to do the whole eco-fashion side of the line? I feel like there are a lot of ethical and moral issues, and for me, it goes beyond fashion in many ways.  It comes to what the message is behind the clothing.  You know, there is mass consumption.  We are so lucky in the western world to have an abundance, and that everything we need is readily available to us.  We are just really used to consuming needlessly.  So this is a way of saying, stop, hold up for a second, buy something that is helping to save the environment as well as something that is quality. It is also helping to sustain local communities and local economies because everything is produced and hand-made locally.  It is literally a win-win situation.  You are getting something that none else in the world owns, and I think that is really really special, especially in a world where that is lost.  It seems like we are all clones sometimes you know, and this is like wow, it is special, it is hand-made, it is almost like it was made just for me, like something that your mom or grandma would do for you.  I am giving old things a new life, and I feel like it is giving back to the world and community that you live in.  You look great, and you feel great about it.Where can people find your pieces? A list of all the shops that carry my clothing can be found on my website, www.adhesifclothing.com.  The best, most convenient way to shop is to go to www.adhesif.supermarkethq.com.What are some ideas that you have for fall? Fall is very heavily inspired by the 1930’s and 40’s.  It is very refined, there is a mademoiselle-feel to it.  There are clean lines, and lots of tweed and leather.  I am getting more mature with my designs, but that being said I think there is still a sense of immaturity that comes with all of the designs.  They are all whimsical and quirky.