Founder of Designer Company Brother Vellies

Aurora James | Biography

Designer & Founder of 15 Percent Pledge

• By Yunil Tamrakar
• Update : December 27, 2021

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Aurora James is the Creative Director of The Fifteen Percent Pledge and Brother Vellies.

Who is Aurora James?

Aurora James is a Canadian fashion designer, businessperson, and social entrepreneur born on 12 July 1984 in Toronto, Canada. As of December 2021, she is 37 years in age. James interned at Next Models in Toronto at the age of 15. After high school, she attended Ryerson University for a year to study fashion before changing her major to journalism.

James had a long history in the industry before establishing the artisan product company Brother Vellies in 2013. In addition to Brother Vellies, she is also the Founder of The Fifteen Percent Pledge; a campaign started in 2020. James has received the 'Council of Fashion Designers of America's Founders Award' for her advocacy work and being named to the 2020 Bloomberg 50 and 2021 TIME100. 

Furthermore, James has also worked as a modeling agent and production at Fashion Television. She is the designer behind Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's 'Tax the Rich' dress at the 2021 Met Gala.   

Parents

James was born to a Canadian mother, Randa, an artist, and a Ghanaian father. James was introduced to fashion by her mother. 

James wished her mother a happy mother's day on her Instagram account on 10 May 2021. She explained that her mother inspired her to be the woman she is today and how she taught her best habits, along with her worst. 

James added, "She forced me to sit with people I never understood, and she taught me to understand the things I never realized I would come to need to. Even when it hurt. I don't know how much is good, I don't know how much is bad. She is the smartest person I have ever known, she's the smartest person many people know." However, there is not much bio on her father.

Brother Vellies

James founded Brother Vellies in 2013 due to her desire to preserve the artisanal craft. She became fascinated by the artisans and factories in Africa during a trip there, particularly a South African workshop that produced leather vellies.

Brother Vellies preserve traditional African design techniques and practices while also creating and maintaining handcrafted jobs. Moreover, Brother Vellies creates luxury accessories that celebrate cultural histories and timeless design, handcrafted artisanally worldwide. In addition to that, Brother Vellies is popular and frequently used among celebrities like Zendaya, Beyonce, Rihanna, Hailey Bieber, Nicki Minaj, Lady Gaga, among others.

The Fifteen Percent Pledge 

The non-profit advocacy group Fifteen Percent Pledge was founded by James in June 2020. This company was first started as an Instagram post. It has now expanded to a complete Organization with ten full-time employees.

The organization encourages major retailers to dedicate 15% of their shelf space to Black-owned businesses by developing clear business strategies and measurable objectives. Over two dozen huge companies committed to The Fifteen Percent Pledge within the first year, successfully diverting over $5 billion in capital to Black entrepreneurs in the US. Moreover, The Fifteen Percent Pledge aims to have generated $1.4 trillion in wealth by Black entrepreneurs and increased Black business representation by 14.6 percent by 2030.

Boyfriend

James is in a relationship with Browne Andrews. There is not much information regarding their personal life. However, James posted a picture on her Instagram with Andrews on Valentine's day of 2019.