Mel Rose
Encyclopedia
Melissa Rose Bickerstaff (born February 6, 1983), who now goes by the model name Melrose, is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 fashion model and fashion designer based in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

, and signed to Leni's Model Management. She first became well known in 2006, when she placed as the runner-up in the seventh cycle
America's Next Top Model, Cycle 7
America's Next Top Model, Cycle 7 started airing on September 20, 2006 as the first to be aired on The CW network. The season's catch-phrase is "The Competition Won't Be Pretty." The season's promotional theme song is "Hot Stuff " by Pussycat Dolls.To date, this cycle is the most watched season in...

 of America's Next Top Model
America's Next Top Model
America's Next Top Model is a reality television show in which a number of women compete for the title of America's Next Top Model and a chance to start their career in the modeling industry....

.

Early life

Melrose Bickerstaff was born in 1983. She grew up in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan
West Bloomfield Township, Michigan
West Bloomfield Charter Township is an affluent charter township in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan, within the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the township had a population of 64,690. As of 2008, West Bloomfield Township was ranked the 8th highest income city in the...

, and graduated from West Bloomfield High School
West Bloomfield High School
West Bloomfield High School is a public secondary school in West Bloomfield, Michigan. The school is the only public high school in the West Bloomfield School District. The School Enrollment for the 2010-2011 school year is about 1900. West Bloomfield High School was previously located in the...

 in 2001. While in high school, she was active in theatre and was also a member of the ski
Ski
A ski is a long, flat device worn on the foot, usually attached through a boot, designed to help the wearer slide smoothly over snow. Originally intended as an aid to travel in snowy regions, they are now mainly used for recreational and sporting purposes...

 team. She also participated in West Bloomfield High School's Fashion Program, where she was a director of the show.

Bickerstaff graduated from The Art Institute of California - San Francisco
The Art Institute of California - San Francisco
The Art Institute of California – San Francisco is a part of Education Management Corporation's system of creative-arts-focused vocational institutions, The Art Institutes...

 with a degree in fashion design
Fashion design
Fashion design is the art of the application of design and aesthetics or natural beauty to clothing and accessories. Fashion design is influenced by cultural and social latitudes, and has varied over time and place. Fashion designers work in a number of ways in designing clothing and accessories....

, where she was named "Best of Show" and "Most Creative" in the 2003 annual student fashion show. Before appearing on America's Next Top Model, she worked as a fashion designer.

America's Next Top Model

On the series, Bickerstaff went by "Melrose," claiming she removed the "issa" from her first name because she "didn't need it." While making it to the final two on Top Model, Melrose was depicted as not well liked by the other contestants, which was later revealed to E!
E!
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...

 as selective editing. Although her walk was deemed better than that of competitor CariDee English
CariDee English
CariDee English is an American fashion model and TV personality who won Cycle 7 of America's Next Top Model in December 2006. Her prize was a $100,000 contract with CoverGirl Cosmetics, a modeling contract with Elite Models, and a six-page fashion editorial and cover for Seventeen magazine...

, she lost.

Post-TV modeling career

At the end of Bickerstaff's Top Model run, she announced that she would help design clothes for former Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...

 cast member Michelle Rodriguez
Michelle Rodriguez
Mayte Michelle Rodríguez , known professionally as Michelle Rodriguez, is an American actress. Following on from her breakthrough role in 2000's Girlfight, she is best known for playing tough-girl roles and starring in Hollywood blockbusters such as The Fast and the Furious, Resident Evil,...

's fledgling clothing line, Ishkidada. The next month, E! Online and TMZ.com
TMZ.com
TMZ.com is a celebrity news website that debuted on November 8, 2005. It was a collaboration between America Online and Telepictures Productions, a division of Warner Bros., until Time Warner divested AOL in 2009. However, it is still affiliated with AOL News and has the AOL News logo affixed in...

 reported that Bickerstaff and actor Jeremy Piven
Jeremy Piven
Jeremy Samuel Piven is an American film producer and actor best known for his role as Ari Gold in the television series Entourage for which he has won three Emmy Awards as well as several other nominations for Best Supporting Actor....

 had started a romance, but was later retracted by the latter source.

In February 2007, Bickerstaff was a featured model in Malan Breton
Malan Breton
Malan Breton is a Taiwanese born fashion designer, costumer, columnist, producer & media personality, Based in New York City. "Malan Breton" also refers to his brands of apparel, jewelry, and accessories.- Life and career :...

's ready to wear show at New York Fashion Week
New York Fashion Week
The semi-annual New York Fashion Week, branded Mercedes-Benz FashionWeek in 2009, is held in February and September of each year in New York City. It is one of four major fashion weeks held around the world .-History:The first New York Fashion Week, then called Press Week, was the world's first...

. Her working relationship with Breton continued when she appeared with him at the GLAAD Media Awards
GLAAD Media Awards
The GLAAD Media Award is an accolade bestowed by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives...

 wearing one of his dresses one month later. In April 2007, she also appeared in New York's Tartan Week with Ivanka Trump
Ivanka Trump
Ivanka Marie Trump is an American businesswoman, socialite, heiress, and fashion model. The daughter of Ivana and Donald Trump, she is Executive Vice President of Development & Acquisitions at The Trump Organization...

 and Marcus Schenkenberg
Marcus Schenkenberg
Marcus Lodewijk Schenkenberg van Mierop better known as Marcus Schenkenberg, , is a Swedish model of Dutch and Indonesian descent. He was born in Solna and has dual citizenship of both Sweden and the Netherlands...

.

Previously signed to Bleu Model Management and L.A. Models, she signed to Storm Model Management in late 2007, the same agency which manages models Cindy Crawford
Cindy Crawford
Cynthia Ann "Cindy" Crawford is an American model. Known for her trademark mole just above her lip, Crawford has adorned hundreds of magazine covers throughout her career. She was named #3 on VH1's 40 Hottest Hotties of the 90s...

, Kate Moss
Kate Moss
Kate Moss is an English model. Moss is known for her waifish figure and popularising the heroin chic look in the 1990s. She is also known for her controversial private life, high profile relationships, party lifestyle, and drug use. Moss changed the look of modelling and started a global debate on...

, and Alek Wek
Alek Wek
Alek Wek is a Sudanese British model who first appeared on the catwalks at the age of 18 in 1995, sparking a career lasting to date. She is from the Dinka ethnic group in South Sudan, but in 1991 she and some family members fled to Britain to escape the civil war in Sudan...

.

Bickerstaff has also done advertisements for Scoop NYC, Jack Rabbit Belts, and Beau Soleil Fall 2007 Collection, as well as walked the runways at London Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2008 for designer Aminika Wilmot.

Bickerstaff is currently signed with Leni's Model Management in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK