Meet the Black Designers Who Are Waking Up the Fashion World

Brooklyn-based Canadian designer Aurora James started her footwear brand Brother Vellies in 2014. James centered the brand around sustainability and accountability by sourcing her labor and production from small artisans in South Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Morocco. In 2015, James became the first black woman to win the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, and since then, Brother Vellies footwear has been worn by models at Rihanna's Savage x Fenty NYFW '18 show and Solange Knowles at the 2018 Met Gala.