Melissa Jade Aiello (or ‘Missy’) was born in Nottingham, England in 2001. It all started at seven for Melissa Jade: not content with shading in the lines of her coloring book, she started to copy the illustrations instead, producing piles of drawings over the course of a weekend at her grandparents. Soon the coloring books were put aside and her family became the subjects her many drawings. On moving to New York in 2010, a student teacher at Melissa’s school spotted her potential, giving Melissa sketchbook in which to record her sketches.
It was in the States that Melissa searched for a new subject for her drawings and soon found inspiration in her mum, a model booker. In the wish to “follow in Mummy’s footsteps”, Melissa began to draw models and icons from the pages of her mum’s fashion magazines… One Saturday Afternoon Melissa produced a sketch of Karl Lagerfeld in 15 minutes.
The style of the illustration and the likeness of the subject astounded everyone who saw it. people didn’t just like the illustration: they wanted to wear it. Within days, Tees By Missy X was born. Missy works on a commission-only basis, but according to British Vogue, “there are talks with a major stockist to bring the label to a bigger audience.”
In an interview with the magazine, the precocious talent talks about her inspiration: “Fashion is really important to me because it defines who I am.” She adds, “If I go to school in sweatpants, people would be surprised. I did actually do that once and everyone said, ‘Why are you so regular today?’ Fashion is interesting to me, and drawing fashion people is even more interesting.”
Notice the emphasis on fashion there: Missy isn’t game for illustrating any old face on her tees. “I said no to Justin Bieber because they’re cheesy,” she tells Vogue. “There are too many boys like Bieber — there’s also The Wanted and One Direction. I draw people I like and think are interesting…I really liked drawing Donatella, she has a really interesting face.” For more information or to get in touch with Missy, just follow the link below.