EMERGING DESIGNER

Melvie Tucker

IN THIS FEATURE: Meet Melvie Tucker Fashion Focus

rom medical student to designer, Melvie Tucker develops a fresh new line that is drawing national attention. Her creative attitude as well as her life influences has helped to develop a fascinating line of swimwear and sassy dresses for all occasions.

Melvie Tucker, the talented and creative designer of Veneno Designs, was born and raised in Mobile, Alabama. She has lived in a variety of states including: New York, Tennessee, Ohio and Alabama. She presently resides in Florida where her fashion domain is based.

Designing since the age of eleven, Melvie began taking the first steps toward her future career by taking apart doll clothes and re-creating them more to her liking. She boldly started cutting up her own clothes, much to her grandmother's dismay. Deconstructed and redesigned, the clothes would eventually take on the design and shape that was more her style. One of her first creations was a dress she made out of a T-shirt. Melvie meticulously cut up the shirt, creating holes in strategic places and finishing by tying the strips together. Melvie was truly a visionary who was clearly ahead of her time. She learned to hand-sew by the age of 12 and advanced to machine sewing by the time she reached 15.

Surprisingly, Melvie did not directly pursue a career in fashion design. She took a more practical detour and enrolled in Medical School to study Physical Therapy. Although she had a natural affinity for creativity, she decided to do what she felt was expected of her. As fate would have it, Melvie saw a commercial for the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. She visited the school during orientation where she entered and won a scholarship competition-she submitted a sketch and won the partial scholarship prize. Melvie knew that her winning was a sign that she needed to be true to herself. She was 33 credits from graduating from Medical School, when she decided to switch gears and pursue her genuine passion, fashion design. She enrolled and completed a degree in fashion design at The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale.

Tucker is currently showcasing her creative designs of swimwear and dresses in a host of fashion shows throughout South Florida. She recently had a powerful showing at Miami Fashion Week in which her bold and sexy swimwear was showcased. Her incredible designs can be purchased on her Web site, Venenodesigns.com. Melvie continues to create highly inspired fashion-forward collections with unique and detailed design. To meet the needs of her extensive clientele of young sophisticates, Veneno offers a variety of designs of which individual pieces can be customized at the buyer's request. The woman who wears Veneno Designs is confident, sexy, sassy and sophisticated.