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Melanija Knavs was born in Novo Mesto, Yugoslavia, now part of present-day Slovenia, on April 26, 1970.[1][2] Her father Viktor Knavs first worked as a chauffeur, and he eventually sold car parts for a state-owned vehicle manufacturer as he made connections with the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, the national communist party.[3] Her mother Amalija worked as a patternmaker at the children's clothing manufacturer Jutranjka in Sevnica.[1][4] In Sevnica, the family lived in the state-run housing complex Naselje Heroja Maroka.[5] She has an older sister, Ines,[6] and an older half-brother from her father's previous relationship, Denis Cigelnjak, whom she reportedly has never met.[7] Her father denied paternity of the boy, even after it was confirmed by a paternity test.
Although Knauss's father was a member of Yugoslavia's communist party, which espoused a policy of state atheism,[8] he had his daughters secretly baptized as Catholic, as was common.[9][10] The family was well-off relative to most who lived in communist societies. They frequently went on vacations to other parts of Europe.[11] Their apartment was decorated with brightly colored walls, which was a major departure from other apartments in the country.[11][7]
As a child, Knavs and other children of workers at the factory participated in fashion shows that featured children's clothing.[12][4][13] Textiles were Sevnica's primary industry. Students were excused from school to participate in the shows.[14] From a young age, Knavs expressed an interest in fashion, and she began customizing and sewing her own clothes.[5] She developed a skill for it by watching her mother work. [15] Knavs did well in school, where she was appointed school treasurer.[16]
When Knavs was a teenager, she moved to a two-story house in Sevnica with her family.[17] From her youth in Slovenia, Knavs was influenced by the United States: she described the presidency of Ronald Reagan as the beginning of a new era in her own country and the debut of CNN International in 1985 gave her family access to American media.[18] At the age of fifteen, Knavs moved to Ljubljana to attend the Secondary School for Design and Photography, attending the school until her graduation at nineteen.[19] She was admitted despite the school's exclusivity. She made the long commute from her hometown to the capital and back each day by train.[20] After her first year, Melanija and Ines moved to the capital together.[21] After graduating, Knavs enrolled in the Faculty of Architecture and Civil and Geodetic Engineering to further study design.[19][22]