At the genesis of her career, young designer Therese Melliza takes a bite from the tree of knowledge with her graduation collection entitled ‘The Reimagined’

In the beginning, there was nothing. Not a speck of dust, not a ray of light. Scientists believe it was the big bang theory, theologians say it was God who created life on earth, but whatever one chooses to believe in, the bottom line is—we are entities whose existence serves reason and purpose. In the bible, God created Eve for Adam when he took her from his rib. Set in the beautiful Garden of Eden, it was a paradise for the man and woman and all the living creatures until Eve was tempted by the snake and they were banished.

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This was the same tale that inspired Therese Melliza, a young designer from Saint Benilde. “I had an idea of Eve because of Dua Lipa’s song called Garden, Therese recalls. “I thought of Eve as someone who is not being talked about more in the story when in fact she shows the vulnerabilities of being human. I found her character interesting.” That is where it all began. She started heeding what she believed her purpose was—creating something that would impact the world even through small victories. With Eve as the protagonist, her story was retold by Therese through the techniques she used in the conception of her collection.

The day of Benilde’s annual grad show, Sinulid, came forth and there was an abundance of fresh talent and hunger for success in what an outsider would think as a relentless industry. Unsurprisingly, Therese was able to bag one of the major awards of the year.

(This article originally appeared in MEGA Magazine)

Photography ED ENCLONA

Art Direction JANN PASCUA

Hair and Makeup PAMM MERRERA

Model SIRENE of MERCATOR MODELS