Interview
Solvita Melne
1 Congratulations on your achievements in the French Fashion Awards! Could you share a bit about your awarded design, yourself or your studio?
I am Solvita Melne, a self-taught independent footwear designer from Latvia and the creator of SOLVITA ICON. My journey into footwear design did not begin through a traditional fashion education. It began with a long-held creative dream and the courage, later in life, to finally give that dream a real form. Knight Move is the hero design of the collection. It is inspired by the chess knight — the only chess piece that does not move in a straight line. It crosses boundaries, jumps over obstacles and finds its own path. That became a symbol for the woman I design for: a woman who chooses her own direction with courage, intelligence and quiet power. The boot combines natural leather, a laser-marked grid pattern and a sculptural bronze-toned horse-shaped heel. The heel was designed not simply as decoration, but as a real structural element, reinforced internally so that the artistic idea could become wearable footwear. For me, Knight Move is more than footwear. It is an attitude.
2 What’s the one piece in your portfolio that you feel best represents your ideas, and why?
It would definitely be Knight Move. It represents almost everything I want SOLVITA ICON to stand for: individuality, symbolism, visible confidence, technical experimentation and the courage to do something differently. The knight in chess can move where other pieces cannot. That idea resonates deeply with me because I do not want SOLVITA ICON to follow an expected path either. At the same time, I did not want to create an artistic object that could only be admired from a distance. Knight Move was created as a real, wearable boot. Its sculptural impact has to coexist with fit, stability and comfort. That balance between art and wearability is very important to me.
3 What inspired you to pursue a career in fashion design, and what motivates your creative journey?
My creative story began long before SOLVITA ICON. As a child, I loved drawing clothing ideas and imagining details that felt different, personal and alive. At fifteen, I wanted to become a seamstress, but at that time I did not have the courage to follow that path. Years later, the creative desire returned through footwear. When I started creating shoes, I understood very quickly that I was not interested in making something ordinary. I wanted every design to have character, meaning and a detail that gives it its own identity. What motivates me today is the feeling that footwear still offers so much room for creativity and innovation. I am inspired by the possibility of combining beauty, comfort, craftsmanship, symbolism and new technical ideas in one design. For me, the most exciting part of the creative journey is turning an idea that exists only in my imagination into something real, wearable and memorable. Building a footwear brand in Latvia also comes with a very practical challenge. The local footwear manufacturing ecosystem is small, and the number of experienced shoemakers and workshops has been declining. For an independent designer, finding the right craftsmanship and technical expertise can therefore be difficult. Instead of discouraging me, this has made me more determined to find solutions, build the right collaborations and prove that an internationally recognised footwear brand can also grow from Latvia.
4 What’s a day in your studio like—chaos, calm, or a bit of both?
Definitely a bit of both — although my studio often exists wherever my ideas happen to find me. There are calm periods when I can spend a long time thinking about a proportion, leather combination, construction detail or symbolic element. And then there are moments when one idea suddenly creates five more. My process is not always linear. Sometimes I start with a heel and end up imagining an entirely new boot. Sometimes a material, colour, chess piece, playing-card symbol or even a life experience becomes the beginning of a design. I have learned not to fight that process. Some of my best ideas arrive precisely in that space between structure and creative chaos.
5 If you had to describe your design philosophy in three words, what would they be?
Feminine. Bold. Distinctive. Feminine, because I want my designs to make a woman feel beautiful, confident and fully herself. Bold, because SOLVITA ICON is not created to blend into the background. Distinctive, because I do not want to simply follow the biggest fashion trends. I want to create my own design language — with character, emotion and added value. For me, a strong design should not only look beautiful. It should give a woman a feeling, tell a story and offer something that makes it different from what already exists. This is very close to the identity of SOLVITA ICON: footwear for women who are bold, elegant and not afraid to be seen.
6 What was the “aha” moment when you knew you had to submit your winning designs to the award?
The “aha” moment came when the designs stopped feeling like isolated pairs of boots and began to feel like a real visual language. Queen of Cards, Green Strategy and Knight Move are very different, yet they belong to the same world. One represents emotion and memory, another strategy and strength, and Knight Move represents the courage to choose an unexpected path. After receiving a Silver Award at the London Design Awards, I understood that I wanted to continue testing my work internationally. Submitting to the French Fashion Awards was another step outside my comfort zone. And receiving Platinum told me something very important: a design idea born in Latvia can speak to people far beyond Latvia.
7 If fashion had no rules, what’s the boldest design idea you would bring to life?
I would create footwear that is able to transform and respond to the woman wearing it. I am fascinated by the idea of one beautiful piece of footwear being able to change its form, function or character — for example, changing from a shorter boot into a taller silhouette rather than requiring several separate pairs. I would also love to explore intelligent materials and technologies connected with comfort, temperature and moisture management. For me, innovation should not be added simply because technology is available. It should solve something for the wearer while still creating desire. The dream is to bring together fashion, engineering and emotion in one pair of shoes.
8 What’s a trend you wish would make a comeback—or disappear forever?
I would love to see a stronger return to femininity, individuality and craftsmanship in fashion — pieces that feel personal, distinctive and created with intention. I am especially drawn to designs with character: unusual construction, handcrafted details, personalisation, and elements that make a piece feel truly special to the woman wearing it. In SOLVITA ICON, I try to bring this idea to life through details such as embossed leather, hand-painted elements and custom-made construction. The trend I would be happy to see disappear is fashion that becomes disposable simply because the season has changed. I believe a strong design should have more than a short moment of relevance. It should have identity, emotional value, and a reason to be kept.
9 How do you balance artistic freedom with the commercial demands of the fashion industry?
I think this is one of the most important questions for an independent designer. Artistic freedom gives a brand its identity, but a product also has to be manufacturable, wearable and commercially realistic. I try to distinguish between two kinds of compromise. There are compromises that improve a product — making it stronger, more comfortable or technically feasible. Those are valuable. And then there are compromises that remove the very thing that made the design special. Those are much more dangerous. Knight Move is a good example. The sculptural horse heel could have remained purely decorative, but instead a technical solution was developed so that it could function as a real heel. That is the balance I am interested in: not choosing between creativity and reality, but finding a way for them to work together.
10 If you could collaborate with any designer or artist, past or present, who would it be, and what would you create?
I would choose Jimmy Choo. I have said before that one of my dreams is to be close to his creative energy — to understand his way of thinking, to see beauty through his eyes and to experience how exceptional footwear is created at that level. But I have another dream connected to this collaboration. I would love to create, together with Jimmy Choo, the most beautiful, comfortable and perfect pair of shoes for Jennifer Lopez. For me, that would bring together three very different creative energies: Jimmy Choo’s extraordinary understanding of luxury and craftsmanship, the bold and innovative direction I am developing through SOLVITA ICON, and Jennifer Lopez’s femininity, confidence, movement and powerful stage presence. There is also a small symbolic detail that makes this dream personally meaningful to me. I am interested in numerology, and Jennifer Lopez and I were both born on the 24th, while Jimmy Choo was born on the 15th. In numerology, all three dates reduce to the number 6 — a number I associate with beauty, harmony, creativity and care. I do not see that as a prediction. I simply love the symbolism. I believe dreams can come true, and I believe this collaboration is possible. Deep in my heart, I feel that creating something together could bring joy and inspiration to all three of us. And perhaps that is the beauty of a true collaboration: creating something none of us would have created alone.
11 What does success in fashion mean to you—fame, impact, legacy, or something else entirely?
For me, success means recognition without losing identity. Of course, I would love SOLVITA ICON to become internationally known. But I would not consider that success if the brand had to become ordinary in order to grow. My dream is that one day a woman sees a pair of boots from across the room and, without seeing a logo, thinks: “That must be SOLVITA ICON.” That would mean the brand has developed its own recognisable visual language. Success also means having the freedom to keep creating, experimenting and turning ideas that initially sound impossible into real, wearable objects. Fame may come or may not come. But creating something recognisable and meaningful — that is much more important to me.
12 How do you see fashion evolving over the next decade, and where do you see yourself in that position?
I believe fashion will move increasingly toward personalisation, intelligent materials, multifunctional design and a closer relationship between craftsmanship and technology. At the same time, I believe the human element will become even more valuable. People will want products that are not only beautiful, but meaningful, well-made, and created with a clear identity. For SOLVITA ICON, I see my future exactly at that intersection — combining distinctive design, craftsmanship, innovation and new functional ideas in footwear. Developing a footwear brand in Latvia also has its challenges. The local footwear manufacturing environment is relatively small, and finding experienced shoemakers and specialised technical expertise can be difficult. For me, this is not a reason to step back. It is a reason to build stronger collaborations, search for the right specialists and connect Latvian creativity with international knowledge and technology. My ambition is to grow SOLVITA ICON internationally while continuing to develop ideas from Latvia. I do not simply want to follow where footwear is going. I want to contribute something new to it — and, if possible, also help strengthen the knowledge, craftsmanship and possibilities around footwear development in my own country.
13 What’s one piece of advice you’d give to your younger self as a designer, or those who are just starting out?
I would tell my younger self: "Don’t wait too long to start just because you’re afraid". At fifteen, I already wanted to create, but I did not have the courage to follow that path. Today I understand that we rarely feel completely ready before doing something important. Make the first sketch. Create the first prototype. Show someone your work. Enter the competition. You will learn things by moving that you could never learn by standing still. And I would add one more thing: do not remove the unusual part of your idea simply because someone tells you the ordinary version would be easier. Very often, the unusual part is exactly what makes the idea yours.
14 If you could shape your life’s work into a single message to share with the world, what would it be?
Have the courage to make your own move. We do not always know where the next decision will take us, whom we will meet, what we will lose, what we will discover or which dream will suddenly become possible. That idea is at the heart of SOLVITA ICON and its chess-inspired visual language. Like the knight in chess, sometimes the most important move is the one that takes you away from the expected path. SOLVITA ICON is not about blending in. It is about having the courage to be seen, to create something that does not exist yet, and to keep moving toward the life you once only imagined. Dream. Move. Create. And never be afraid to choose your own direction.
