Sustainable Style Maven: Mel's Vintage
Intro
Melissa Mina Kalyoncu, the visionary behind Mel’s Vintage, weaves a fascinating tale of transition from academia to sustainable fashion entrepreneurship. In this exclusive interview, Melissa shares her unique journey, tracing her steps from a background in Comparative Literature to pivotal roles in sustainability at the United Nations Development Programme. Driven by a desire to infuse vibrancy into her life while upholding values of sustainability, Mel’s emerged as a natural progression. Melissa delves into the art of curating luxury vintage items, her commitment to promoting a cyclical fashion sense, and the engaging dialogue she fosters through the store's Instagram platform. As the luxury vintage market gains traction amid increasing sustainability awareness, Melissa envisions a future where curated vintage becomes a staple in the fashion landscape. Join us in uncovering the story behind Mel’s Vintage and Melissa Mina Kalyoncu’s contribution to the sustainable fashion movement.
interview by Selin Kunbi
My store supports a cyclical fashion sense, with sustainability at its core. I want to encourage people to shop locally, sustainable and second hand.
Q1.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your background. Who is Melissa Mina Kalyoncu?
Although opening this store has been a dream of mine for many years, my background was not really in fashion. I moved to New York at an early age and studied Comparative Literature at NYU and Columbia in pursuit of becoming an academic. While I was studying, I started working at the United Nations Development Programme. Sustainability was a big part of the projects I worked on, but in a completely different fashion. After working in this sector for some years, I decided that I wanted to add some color into my life and took a leap by opening Mel’s.
Image: Mel's Vintage
Q2.
How did your passion for vintage fashion and sustainability lead to the creation of Mel's Vintage?
I worked in fields related to sustainability for a few years before opening Mel’s. Sustainable development and doing value driven work was very important for me. Although I craved working in a more “fun” and creative field, I did not want to compromise on these values. That is why Mel’s seemed like the organic next step for me. My store supports a cyclical fashion sense, with sustainability at its core. I want to encourage people to shop locally, sustainable and second hand.
Image: Mel's Vintage
Q3.
How do you source and curate luxury vintage items, and what criteria do you use to
ensure they align with your sustainable values?
I source vintage from all around and I’m very lucky to have a community burgeoning around Mel’s. I take consignment pieces from my friends and customers; this way, beloved pieces end up finding a second life in the closets of the people around me. This excites me very much. Everyone makes each piece their own and we create a cycle of sustainability instead of endless consumption.
Q4.
How do you educate and engage your customers about the environmental and ethical benefits of choosing vintage fashion?
I am extremely active on the stores’ Instagram account. I try to keep this social media channel very lighthearted and casual. This is my main means of communication with my clientele. On this platform, I often share information about sustainability, clothes, trends, and my favorite pieces. I’d like to think that we have an active conversation going on this channel in which my clients and I both educate one another on these subjects. It is very much a dialogue instead of a lecture!
Image: Mel's Vintage
Q5.
In what ways do you see the luxury vintage fashion market evolving in the context of
increasing sustainability awareness?
I think the popularity of vintage clothing and accessories is growing every day. We probably have some influencers and it-girls to thank for this. While I can tell that some people are getting onboard the vintage train because it is “trendy” I still think of this as a win for the sector. As long as we’re breaking the tabus around secondhand clothing, I don’t think it matters so much what the reason behind this is. I also think that luxury vintage is already quite popular in Istanbul, first and foremost because of the cost benefits. What I really want to see is more affordable yet curated vintage becoming a staple in the fashion market. Mel’s is not a luxury vintage store. The store is home to both extremely rare and archival pieces and very casual daily clothes.