Melissa Odabash

Melissa Ann Odabash is an American fashion designer and former model based in London. She is known for her swimwear designs and has been noted by Vogue as creating the "Ferraris of swimwear." Odabash has a celebrity following and her designs have been worn by Beyoncé, Kate Moss, Sienna Miller, Rihanna, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.

Melissa Ann Odabash grew up in New Jersey. She is the daughter of Arthur R. (d. 1998) and Lois Odabash of Demarest, New Jersey, and has four siblings, Robin, Jamie Lynn, Scott and Megan. Arthur R. Odabash was a real-estate developer, and a co-founder and the vice-chairman of the Jersey Bank for Savings in Montvale, New Jersey, and the chairman of the Bergen County Department of Planning and Economic Review.

She began her career living and working in Italy as a catwalk and swimwear model. Odabash decided to start creating her own swimwear by hand, selling them to independent boutiques in Milan and gaining global recognition when her designs featured on the front cover of American fashion magazines.

Odabash has collaborated with others in the industry including Speedos, creating a collection of one-off swimwear pieces to celebrate their 75th anniversary in 2004. She opened a store in Notting Hill, London in 2007, followed by one in Chelsea.

Odabash's brand, which includes swim, beach & ready-to-wear collections is distributed in over 48 countries and retailed in over 250 department stores. She has an ongoing collaboration with designer Julien Macdonald with a range of couture swim and beachwear collections and has also collaborated with celebrities such as Alexandra Burke, Gwyneth Paltrow & Naomi Watts for her starring roles in The Impossible (2012 film) & Diana (film); In 2012, Odabash developed a line of unisex hats to raise money and awareness for the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

In 2014, Odabash won Salon International de la lingerie's Designer of the Year award and was awarded as one of the 50 Most Influential People of London at The London Lifestyle Awards; as well as winning Retailer of the Year in 2015. She is a guest speaker at business schools in the UK and US including Condé Nast's College of Fashion & Design and Harvard Business School.

Her husband is Nicolas De Santis, who is a half-Italian, half-Spanish internet entrepreneur, and they have two teenage daughters.