After watching what many netizens dubbed to be one of the best period dramas to date, The Empress of China, Melanie drew inspiration from the character’s costumes. Using a combination of traditional Chinese and Japanese wear with elements of modern European garments, Melanie’s collection focuses on using origami shapes and tailoring techniques to create a gender-neutral collection. Flowers were the motif of the collection. Using different folding techniques, Melanie applied this to her garment to create volume and three-dimensional shapes, focusing all of the drama on the top half of the body. In contrast, clean lines and refined tailoring were used on the bottom half, a happy medium between tradition and modernity, simple and decorative.