Capturing The Moment

JUPITER, FL – January 5, 2017 –“Did you see the double rainbow this morning?” asks Melissa Odabash as she sits down at the patio table at Dive Bar Restaurant. “I was outside and it was directly over my house. I stepped inside to grab my phone, and it had almost dissipated by the time I returned. These moments pass so quickly. You have to catch them while you can.”

Although said in passing, there is a much greater weight to the words, considering the source. Melissa Odabash is a woman who knows about seizing the right moments. One of the most successful businesswomen in the world, as CEO of an eponymous design firm, she has built a respected fashion empire on clothing designed for “holidays and relaxing at the beach.” Her bathing suits and resort wear collections are made for memorable moments that seem to pass all too quickly.

QUALITY IS HARD TO FIND
Melissa’s introduction to business came as a swimwear model in Rome. Disappointed in the quality of the pieces she was asked to model, she began to design her own, importing the fabric from Milan, and sewing the pieces by hand.

From the beginning there has been a hallmark to Melissa’s suits: All are cut with obsessive attention to the proportions of a woman’s body.

She believes passionately in fit and in quality – the two elements that were lacking in so many of the bathing suits she modeled at the beginning of her career. These elements have remained constant, as has her unerring knack for seizing the moment.

A model herself, and with a natural instinct for marketing, she was able to get her bathing suits in the pages of the top fashion magazines – and on the bodies of the top models – including Cindy Crawford and Elle Macpherson, both of whom remain friends and clients to this day. Soon other A-list fans followed suit, including Beyonce, Heidi Klum, Kate Moss, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ivanka Trump, and Her Royal Highness Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. On the Silver Screen, Jennifer Lawrence wears Melissa’s SportsLuxe suit in the recent film, “Passengers.” Further, her collections have been featured in such leading publications as Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, and Tatler. “Vogue U.S. did an article naming Tamara Mellon (ex-president of Jimmy Choo), Natalie Massenet (founder of Net-a-Porter), and me as the three to watch,” she says with no small amount of pride. Vogue U.K. described her bikinis as “the Ferraris of the bikini world.” She has become known for reintroducing high fashion to the swimwear world with complimentary lines that include beachwear, accessories, children’s wear, and SportsLuxe.

RIDING THE WAVE OF SUCCESS
Melissa’s insistence on quality and her business acumen paid off. The line only carried in independent boutiques grew to be distributed in luxury department stores. “Saks came first. Followed by Harvey Nichols, Harrods, Barney’s, Neiman Marcus, Selfridges,” she lists off the names, “We’re now in over 250 stores, boutiques, and resorts all over the world.”

In 2007, Melissa opened her own store in Notting Hill, West London, which was quickly followed by a sister store in Chelsea. Prior to our lunch in Jupiter, she was in the Dominican Republic, at the grand opening of her latest store in Casa de Campo. To accommodate the demand, she owns a factory outside of London. “I now have 52 employees around the world,” says the woman who once upon a time hand-stitched bikinis by herself.

“The physical stores are great, but I think the future is online,” she says. “Online shopping lets you try on the pieces in the comfort of your own home.”

“We sell a selection of pieces through various online retailers and discount sites, as well as our full line of bathing suits, beachwear (for women and children) and accessories online at Odabash.com.

She is right to seize the moment and capture the business market afforded by the Internet. According to an article published by the The Telegraph, Melissa’s online sales have increased by 30 percent in the U.K. and 120 percent in the U.S.

In 2014, Melissa was named one of London’s 50 Most Influential People. That same year, she was named the Designer of the Year at the Salon International de la Lingerie in Paris, France. In 2015, she was honored with London’s Retailer of the Year award by the London Lifestyle Awards, an honor she won again in 2016. Her love of life and celebratory spirit is reflected in the “Joi De Vivre” Award with which she was presented by the Champagne Bureau in 2016. Perhaps not coincidentally, in February of 2015, she debuted her line of mastectomy swimwear, Future Dreams. She has also received the Founder’s Award from the WIE (Women: Inspiration & Enterprise), as well as the Humanitarian Award from the Future Dreams Charity in 2015 and 2016.

“I believe that giving back is crucial. I don’t see a dime from the mastectomy line. The proceeds go to a cancer charity,” she says.

A look at her schedule reveals work with CLIC Sargent (a British charity for children and young people with cancer), as well as work with the Gynecological Cancer Fund. Melissa is also an enthusiastic supporter of other women in business and design, speaking regularly at business schools in the U.K. and the U.S., including the Conde Nast College of Fashion and Design and the Harvard Business School. It is quite an exhausting schedule for a woman who insists on being the fit test model for every single one of her designs, as she likes to try on every single piece they make. Yes. That is how deep her commitment to quality runs.

How does she keep the pace?

“I recharge. In Jupiter,” she answers gazing out across the Intracostal with a smile. “This is my fun place where I don’t have to be ‘on,’” she laughs. “In fact, my youngest daughter said to me the other day, ‘Mummy, I like your London look better. You’re a bit messy here’.” Melissa chuckles. “She may not like it, but this is me – actually wearing my clothes and playing outside. I love it.” [Editor’s Note: Melissa’s “Florida Messy” is still picture perfect. Ever the savvy businesswoman, she shares photographs of herself enjoying her active Florida vacation with her 72.6K Instagram followers – along with the links for the clothing and jewelry that she happens to be wearing. Not surprisingly, sales for those items increase with each post.]

NATURAL HIGH
Melissa isn’t kidding about her enthusiasm for the outdoors. She biked to our lunch. Prior to that, she biked to the ocean for a swim. It was that early morning bike ride / ocean swim that led to the double rainbow sighting.

“When I am here in Jupiter, I am always outside,” she says. “London is inside, cold, business. Florida is outdoors, warm sunshine, wild life. These moments seem to just fly.” As if on cue, a flying fish leaps from the water to punctuate her sentence. “Did you see that? When we were out on the boat the other day, we were surrounded by a school of dolphin. What an amazing sight.” In addition to the dolphin, out on the boat she has seen rays, huge sea turtles, and spinner sharks in the waters off of Jupiter.

She continues, “When you paddleboard here you see turtles, the most amazing fish…it is hard to have a bad day.” There is even an island that she frequents by paddleboard that is covered with giant starfish.

True to her nature for seizing moments, Melissa is fearless. Willing to try almost any athletic activity, on this trip she explored indo-boarding and skateboarding. “At Carlin Park this morning, my husband and I saw a kid with a windsurfing kite attached to his skateboard. My husband said I should ask to try it out, but I have to draw the line somewhere. Next trip,” she says with a laugh.

“Jupiter really is a world away for you, isn’t it?” I ask. She answers with a smile. “My parents brought me here when I was a child and had a place here. (Editor’s Note: Her mother still lives a block away from her here in Jupiter.) I’ve been in love with it ever since. If it isn’t the nature, it’s the people, or the things to do. I’m never bored. I can walk into a vintage shop, see an old Pucci evening dress and be inspired. The nature is inspiring, the colors.” Looking at her face as she speaks, it is easy to see the inspiration that she draws – and that as her vacation comes to a close, this is one of the fleeting moments.

Melissa concurs. “This is just one of those places where you can be yourself and relax. I always hurry back.” •

Photos courtesy of Odabash