Plus-size designer, Melissa Mercedes, is the winner of The Cultivate Award
ELOQUII/Melissa Mercedes
Plus-size brand Eloquii and plus-size digital media platform, The Curvy Fashionista, announced Melissa Mercedes as the winner of The Cultivate Award. The award is an initiative aimed at nurturing the next generation of BIPOC independent designers in the plus-size fashion community. “There are so many talented creators in the plus-size industry,” said Marie Denee, creator of The Curvy Fashionista, “But some don’t know where to start or don’t have the tools to put themselves on the map.”
Melissa Mercedes, the founder of Melissa Mercedes, hails from Los Angeles and is a self-taught designer. In 2016 she designed her own dress for the Latin Grammys after not being able to find adequate plus-size offerings. Mercedes has designed for actresses Laverne Cox and Lauren Ash.
Eloquii will present the designer with a $10,000 grant, a one-year professional mentorship program, and a capsule collection designed with and sold on Eloquii.com next year. “The Cultivate Award is a step forward in empowering amazing BIPOC indie designers with the resources they need to build thriving businesses,” says Yesenia Torres, who directs design at Eloquii. “BIPOC designers have been marginalized and underrepresented in the fashion industry, even more so in plus-size fashion, for so long. Our hope is that this is a stepping stone to more opportunities, tools, cash, connection and mentorship for indie designers, who are the backbone and creative forces of the plus-size industry.” Mariah Chase, CEO of Eloquii, shares, “We need amazing and diverse talent to continue to propel the range and caliber of plus-size fashion today. There is more work to be done.”
Judges for the award included Torres, as well as The Cut Editor-in-Chief Lindsay Peoples Wagner, celebrity stylist Timothy Snell, and Liris Crosse, who was the first plus-size model to win Project Runway. Candidates were evaluated on inspiration, originality, innovation and aesthetic.
“By starting The Cultivate Award, I wanted to pay forward the opportunities I’ve been offered to elevate young designers who deserve recognition and success,” said Denee. “The more we do to support and nurture BIPOC designers in plus-size fashion, the better we can cater to the plus-size market. It’s about time.”
