Carmelo Anthony Explains Why ‘Melo Made 2’ Did Not Include Footwear
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Carmelo Anthony returned to New York Fashion Week with “Melo Made 2,” an eye-catching collection inspired by his time spent in South Africa. But for his second-ever show, the basketball star kept the product assortment slim and opted not to deliver a sneaker collab.
“We’re experimenting. I wanted to see where we’re going, I want to see the feedback that we get,” Anthony told FN at the start of the “Melo Made 2” show Friday night in Harlem. “This is an ongoing process, this is an annual thing, so next year we might do some footwear with Jordan.”
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During his NYFW debut in September 2018, the baller — along with Rag & Bone — reworked the classic Air Jordan 20 in a pair of colorways, which released the same month.
For this show, which took over the stunning Harlem Parish, Anthony dressed models in some of his favorite Jordan Brand silhouettes on the market today. The styles included the Air Jordan 6 “Paris Saint-Germain,” the Air Jordan 3 “Tinker” and the Jordan Air Latitude 720.
Despite the lack of a collab, something between Anthony and Jordan Brand may already be in the works. And with two “Melo Made” shows under his belt, the baller believes he’s got momentum to deliver something special with the sneaker brand that backs him.
“There’s ongoing talks. I think after getting my feet wet with ‘Melo Made’ year one and year two, now we have something that I could present to Jordan Brand and say, ‘Look, we want you guys to really be a part of it, what can we do?'” Anthony said.
Aside from footwear, another noticeable difference from his debut was the amount of brands he worked with. For the first collection, Anthony teamed up with four brands, but for “Melo Made 2” he collaborated on several apparel selections with just one designer: Laduma Ngxokolo of Maxhosa Africa.
“The first show was great — but it also was a learning experience,” Anthony said. “I had four different brands altogether under one roof, trying to give each brand their own light. This year, I wanted to do something different.”
Using time spent in South Africa as his platform, Anthony and Ngxokolo developed a line to mirror the baller’s experience away, and everything shown in “Melo Made 2” was created at the Maxhosa Africa brand headquarters in Africa. The NBA vet also ensured that guests could enjoy some of what he took in abroad.
“We brought in South African cuisine, South African artists, South African designers. I wanted to bring these things back here to the U.S. and let people that support me into my world and experience,” Anthony said. “Creativity is global, it’s worldwide. It’s not just here in the U.S., it’s not just in Paris or London. It’s also in South Africa. I wanted to do ‘Melo Made’ in a space where the vibe and culture meets what I had experienced. And what better place to do this than Harlem? Harlem has all the culture from all over the place, especially South Africa.”
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