Brand: Collina Strada x Melissa
Season: Spring/Summer 2023
Buy: Online at Collina Strada's website
Editor's Notes: Meet the Kidcore shoes of your dreams. Collina Strada's new collaboration with Melissa, jelly footwear aficionado, is giving everything you could ask for in a sandal: color, comfort, style, and a healthy serving of whimsy.
Set to debut at Collina Strada's Spring/Summer 2023 runway show, the team-up is comprised of two silhouettes. The Puff, a chunky hiking sandal, is something like a TEVA on shrooms. Blobby and bright, the strappy shoe is constructed with a molded midsole that appears to be melting.
Secondly, the Possession puts a twist on Melissa's signature jelly sandal. With a woven upper and a buckled ankle strap, the style is total '90s nostalgia.
In hot pink, lavender, and a handful of glittery colorways, the two shoes are a pretty apt summation of the Collina Strada aesthetic: joyful and irreverent, with an eco-conscious twist.
The brand's founder, Hillary Taymour, is an outspoken proponent of conscious design. For a creative who uses her label as a platform for environmental awareness, partnering with Melissa — a company that makes most of its shoes from Melflex, an 100 percent recyclable plastic — was a no-brainer.
Childhood bliss in a chic, eco-minded shoe? Sign me up.
