A life leading in design
Pioneering Designer and Sustainability Innovator
Melissa Sterry is an internationally recognised designer, design scientist, and strategist with over 25 years of experience at the forefront of sustainable design and innovation. From launching her first design business after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in design practice to spearheading projects that challenge traditional design paradigms, Melissa has been a visionary force across fashion, textiles, digital media, architecture, urban design, and biodesign. Her work is distinguished by a deep commitment to ecological design, circular economy principles, and the alignment of human-made systems with the natural world.
Early Career in Fashion and Textiles
Melissa’s design career began in her teens, freelancing while still in secondary school. and later launching her own ready-to-wear womenswear label in the mid-90s. Initially specialising in fashion and textiles, she gained hands-on experience through courses and placements with leading international designers, manufacturers, and retailers. Throughout this time, she explored all aspects of the fashion industry — from creating bespoke evening wear to designing ready-to-wear collections for commercial clients to buying, and more. Her collections were showcased in London, and she attended international trade shows, including London Fashion Week and the VH-1 Fashion Awards in New York.
Melissa championed sustainability long before it was a mainstream concern. In the early 90s, she designed a groundbreaking apparel collection that anticipated the principles of cradle-to-cradle fashion — garments designed to biodegrade and be safely reabsorbed by the environment at the end of the season, a concept which, at the time was unprecedented. Her visionary work was inspired by her study of biomaterials and environmental issues, which would go on to inform her bio-inspired design ethos. In the years that followed, Melissa championed sustainable fashion, both authoring several articles, including cover stories for national magazines, and mentoring talents entering the field. Later works would include cofounding the world’s first online fashion arts awards, through which she both helped launch the careers of emerging talent and raise visibility of the need to embrace sustainability.
Transition to Digital and New Media
Starting in the early 1990s with computer-aided textile and surface pattern design, Melissa had been an early adopter of digital media as a tool for innovation. In that period, she learned about the potential of the Internet to transform business and society through both a series of part-time jobs working in and with early pioneers. By her late twenties, Melissa had transitioned from fashion to the digital sector, working as a consultant and executive-level head-hunter in new media, before leading business development for a full-service design agency.
By 30, she had already co-directed two first-to-market digital startups, which had both laid the foundations for what would go onto become major markets within the B2B and B2C sectors. Though her career was largely focused on strategy, business development, and communications during this period, she led design and production across a series of high-profile projects, and in the process extended her design skills beyond traditional applications, influencing event design, art direction, publishing, and hybrid creative projects. From fashion shows and album launches to experimental collaborations with visual and audio designers, Melissa’s work pushed the boundaries of what design could achieve. Together with her creativity, her trademark became making the impossible happen through strategic alliances, creative collaborations, and highly innovative approaches to getting things done.
Sustainability Leadership and Transdisciplinary Design
In 2003, Melissa founded one of the earliest sustainability consultancies, which integrating a collaborative laboratory, and think tank, brought together experts from across disciplines to tackle environmental and social challenges. A multi-award-winning company, it was one of a folio of design, arts, and innovation-led ventures that she cofounded in the period. Her other activities included cofounding the world’s first online arts awards, cofounding the world’s first online fashion arts awards, cofounding a fairtrade music project, and holding non-executive and advisory roles across several pioneering sustainability projects in design, fashion, arts, and publishing. Her works were recognised through multiple awards and honours and covered in national and international press.
Scaling Circularity from Fashion to Architecture to Urban Design
By the late 00s Melissa had turned her attention to sustainability in the built environment. In 2008 she cofounded New Frontiers, an initiative designed to help raise awareness and understanding of sustainable design and innovation in the built environment sector. As a new decade dawned, she embarked on a PhD researching and developing a new paradigm in building wildland-urban-interface resilience to wildfires through the creation of complex adaptive architectural and urban systems that mimic, synthesise, and synchronise with the biochemistry, behaviours, and relationships of plants that have evolved to live with wildfire. Initiated at the School of the Built Environment [SOBE], University of Salford, it was completed at the Advanced Virtual and Technological Architecture Research group at University of Greenwich. Having published her thesis in 2018, Melissa has continued to research and develop the paradigm and its applications, and presented her findings and concepts in print, in talks, and in media in UK, Europe, United States, and beyond.
Simultaneously to starting her research, she launched Bionic City®, which was the first project to explore the question of “how would nature design a city?” As a leader in biofuturism and bioinnovation, Bionic City® has collaborated with experts in science, architecture, design, and engineering worldwide. With collaborators spanning the UK, Europe, the United States, Asia, and beyond, it has been at the forefront of biologically inspired urban design and sustainable development for nearly 15 years.
Another Design Experiment
Melissa recently launched Biotique®, a British-made luxury brand featuring soft furnishings, dining ware, stationery, and fashion accessories. These collections, including Gothica, Gothica Noir, and Natura, feature her signature surface pattern designs, which are inspired by nature and created using eco-conscious processes that minimize material and ink waste. Each collection integrates microscopic and other scientific imagery from her design research, resulting in visually and conceptually rich pieces. Over time, Melissa will introduce seasonal and limited-edition collections, continuing her exploration of bio-inspired aesthetics.
Thought Leader and Industry Expert
In early 2024, Melissa was selected to serve on the Design Council’s expert network, representing a full spectrum of design fields and sharing best practices across the sector. As a design leader, she has judged national and international design awards and held numerous academic roles, including guest lecturer, guest professor, external examiner, and thesis supervisor, among others, at prestigious design and architecture schools across the UK and Europe. She has also mentored and advised students and professionals, from undergraduates to executives, on design and innovation.
Design Philosophy
Melissa’s design philosophy is rooted in systems thinking and ecological alignment. For her, design is a tool for problem-solving, whether it involves creating products, services, or entire systems. Her work constantly explores themes such as circularity in material production, bio-inspired processes, and the integration of human-made systems with natural ecosystems. Her research and practice blend design, science, and emerging technologies to create solutions that are both innovative and ecologically aligned. Across fashion, architecture, urban design, and more, her design portfolio reflects a commitment to creating sustainable, future-proof solutions.
This unique approach has been realised in her own projects, as well as contributions to the work of others. Her independence as a designer and researcher has allowed her unparalleled creative freedom to explore the new frontiers in the field. Melissa’s contribution to creativity, innovation, and enterprise has been honoured with numerous awards, including the International Inspiration Women Awards, ‘Woman Icon of the Year’ award 2024.
Areas of Expertise
Biofutures and Biodesign: Exploring the intersection of biotechnology, biourbanism, and bioengineering to create sustainable solutions.
Circular Design: Pioneering design practices that prioritise material regeneration and resource efficiency.
Systems and Complexity Theory: Applying transdisciplinary methods to solve environmental and social challenges.
Sustainable Innovation: Leading projects that align human-made systems with ecological principles.
Skills
Speculative Design and Foresight: Creating future-forward design concepts and trends forecasts.
Creative Direction and Mentorship: Leading design projects, mentoring talent, and advising on creative strategies.
Design Entrepreneurship: Founding and developing sustainable design businesses that push the boundaries of innovation.
Learn more about Melissa’s groundbreaking work in design and sustainability by exploring her folio.