Amy Pugsley Building beautiful bridges between art, fashion, music and life, Melody Hesaraky is a textile designer and artist. Her journey as a creative was cemented at a young age when she became passionate about drawing and painting leading to a Bachelor’s degree in 3D Design and Craft from the University of Brighton and a Master’s degree in Textile Design for Fashion from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Today, Melody uses her artistic platform to create high-end fabric collections that are not only visually appealing but intricately woven with modernity, passion and multicultural stories. We caught up with the busy artist to talk art inspo.
New York is a veritable melting pot of cultures. How do you self-identify?
I have always enjoyed spending time in cities that are diverse. Meeting people from around the world is something that fuels my creative tank. In my opinion, it is very beautiful when different cultures mix together but also remain distinct in some ways; I really appreciate this direction of global unity. Perhaps, self-identifying means describing oneself as belonging to a particular category or group. I tend to look at myself like a work in progress, as a human, artist and a designer. It feels like I am constantly becoming a new version of me.
How does the city inspire your work?
You experience four seasons in New York, which is a great reminder of change, death and rebirth. Shadows and colors are always changing and life has a faster pace compared to the other cities that I have lived in. From buildings to the way people dress, there is so much variety. You can go to the Met and enjoy classical art or walk in Bushwick in Brooklyn and get inspiration from the graffiti on the walls. Nothing is stopping the other, and nothing is better or worse. It is up to you to decide which one you want to choose. I think that’s one of the factors that let the creative energy flow. I am very expressive both in my art and my lifestyle, and it is good to be in a place where uniqueness is celebrated. Perhaps, artful living is turning our own personal experiences and histories into art of different forms and expressing it fearlessly no matter where we are.
We love your fashion illustrations. What does the creative process look like for these beautiful drawings?
I have an MFA in textile design for fashion and also have a background in fine arts. From an early age, I have been involved in art through drawing and painting. I wanted to create my own visual language and these illustrations are the result of marriage of all these disciplines, along with inspirations from music and dance; when I dance, I break free, and I wanted to bring that freedom into my illustrations. I did not want to focus on someone else’s style so I had to find mine. The more I detached myself from the idea of right or wrong, the more I got creative with my illustrations and the more I found out about my own abilities.
Do your Persian roots play a role in your creativity?
I feel extremely fortunate to be able to tap into this glorious culture and learn from it whenever I want. It is one of the richest art heritages in world history, from the Achaemenid empire and Hafiz poetry to Abu Ali Sina and Kamal-ol-Molk. When thinking of Persian architecture, the Golestan Palace or Ali Qapu Palace and many other historical buildings, they still remain up to this day sights to behold. These places had an otherworldly charm that no modern shiny buildings can replace.
In 2019, you started your own label, Melody Hes Studio. Tell us about your vision for this launch.
I’ve always had a very specific way of self-expression through my art and design. I knew that since childhood, and later on, it was very obvious during my design practice in undergrad and grad school. After graduation, it was very clear to me that fitting in, in most companies, would be difficult because I did not have a normal portfolio or the normal journey to becoming a designer. Although I learned so much from working for other companies, I didn’t like the fact that they put me in a box and limited my vision and abilities. I have always wanted to start my own label, but maybe working for other companies made me more determined to start faster. So I’d say, some sort of desperation turned into inspiration for me. I started in a renovated garage in Berkeley in 2019 and moved to New York at the beginning of 2020. I wanted to create a label that celebrates creativity and freedom of expression, determined to build a brand that applies multiculturalism to fashion, textile design and art. Melody Hes Studio is a label that gives space to individuals to be themselves and still create something unique through collaboration. My wearable pieces are telling stories and when you wear them you carry those stories to different places, different people and different times.
What 2020 fashion lines really resonated with you artistically?
I’m not sure about the artistic part of it but I’m happy about the fact that more brands are bringing awareness to sustainability and environmental issues. I hope that we are moving toward a slower spade in terms of production and process of making clothing. I think that it’s time to focus more on the quality of products and the whole life cycle of what we put in the world and how it affects the earth. Human relationship with the rest of nature has been an issue and I think that there are some brands and designers that are bringing more awareness to that.
What projects are you currently working on that you can give our readers a sneak peek of?
I started my ‘In Transit’ project in December 2020, which explores the relationship of bringing a physical body to my illustrations. It is an ongoing project making room for individuals to be themselves and add their uniqueness to the final piece that the audience can see. I am currently working on the second collaboration within this project, while also working on my second illustration book called ‘Life and Death’. The first one was called ‘Growth’ – 30 illustrations, 30 days of quarantine – which I finished during the lockdown in New York.
