Almost Famous

Melasia Pinder ’20 didn’t set out to become a connector of Philadelphia’s creative class — she wanted to be a veterinarian.

But an allergy to animals sent her looking for another outlet for her curiosity, and she found it in Jefferson’s Fashion, Merchandising, & Management program, where color theory, garment construction, and balance sheets shared a classroom.

That unlikely combination — equal parts artistry and arithmetic — would become the engine behind Almost Famous Events Collective, the business she built to give Philadelphia’s independent artists and designers a stage.

A North Philadelphia native, Pinder arrived at Jefferson as a transfer student in the second half of her sophomore year. “I had a knack for math, so I fell into fashion merchandising where you can merge the creative with the business side of things,” she says. The robust fashion education and small class sizes brought Jefferson — and fashion merchandising — to life, and she valued the chance to work in concert with not only fashion design students but also the textile departments actually creating fabrics and patterns, which was not available at her first school.

“I was enamored by the fashion program and being back in the city,” she says. “I received a thorough understanding of fashion. It was a tight-knit community, and my peers and professors felt like my family.”

Pinder appreciates the benefits realized through combining her major with a minor in graphic design. “I learned color theory and took drawing classes that allowed me to translate it into drawing fashion illustrations,” she says. “We sewed, created prototypes, and learned how to construct an article of clothing. This was very important in understanding how it all works, especially when you are working alongside designers.”

It was an unforgettable trip to China with Jefferson in her junior year that transformed and inspired not only Pinder’s education, but also her future career. “We traveled to multiple cities — Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong — and visited garment-dyeing factories and textile mills,” she says. “These were all the things that we were studying. It was surreal to actually walk into those spaces, and I didn’t think was possible until it was presented by Jefferson.”

Her Almost Famous store was included as one of six storefronts on the block. Her location featured the work of a collective of independent designers of clothes, artwork, jewelry, home décor, and more. In addition to reaching local traffic, the shop offered an opportunity to showcase Pinder’s wares to visitors in the city for the World Cup as well as America’s 250th birthday celebration.

“A lot of these travelers wanted to take a piece of the city back home with them,” Pinder says. “They came into the store specifically asking, ‘Are these Philly designers?’ ‘Are these Philly brands?’ I was happy to be able to offer that to them and to see the artists’ work amplified in that way.”

She was excited to be a part of Philadelphia’s efforts to connect with visitors both near and far through the World Cup and America250 semiquincentennial events. “This project really speaks to my mission to create this platform enabling creative entrepreneurs, artists, and designers to reach a wider audience and connect with people that they otherwise may not have had access to,” she says. “I’m so grateful. It was a full-circle moment. I just didn’t imagine being on Market Street in Center City.”