'I didn't know that I was launching Brother Vellies when I launched Brother Vellies, and I didn't know that I was launching the 15 Percent Pledge when I launched the 15 Percent Pledge. All I did was take a desire that I had for the world, and the world responded.'
Here at Fashionista, we're passionate about covering all the ways that the industry is changing for the better. That's why we wanted to honor the forces working tirelessly to reshape what it means to work in fashion and beauty. With our annual series, Fashionista Five, we'll be doing just that by highlighting five people whose work we've admired over the past year.
"I think we can all relate to having sad moments in our childhood or in our youth," she says. "I know I would often find myself escaping in a Tim Walker editorial. That really made my heart sing. It's always, definitely, been a part of me." "There was a CFDA thing where it was a bunch of us who were Black, specifically in the fashion industry. I was looking around the room, and at least two or three of them had shot their first ever lookbook in my old apartment," she remembers. "Studio 189, William Okpo, Azède Jean-Pierre... Anything that I can do, I always try, within reason. By no means am I perfect. I definitely fuck up all the time. But to me, it's a thing where all ships rise with the tide.
Since we spoke in early August, James has shared some important, exciting updates: On top of signing more companies to the 15 Percent Pledge and publishing how individuals can commit to it, she, of course, appeared on the cover of the September 2020 issue of Vogue, what is largely and historically considered the magazine's most important edition of the year.
"This cover of Vogue, to me, symbolizes my own American dream," she says. "To get on the cover of a magazine not for how you look or how you perform, but for what you believe in and just how hard you're willing to fight for it... I'm grateful that's what landed me there. And I'm humbled that people are willing to fight for my dreams alongside me — an equitable future is feeling closer and closer for all of us everyday.
Never. I had never thought about it — I didn't think about it at all. I didn't know that I was launching Brother Vellies when I launched Brother Vellies, and I didn't know that I was launching the 15 Percent Pledge when I launched the 15 Percent Pledge. All I did was take an idea, take a desire that I had for the world, and the world responded.
It really was a huge platform, and we had a lot of exposure at the time, so our company grew really, really fast. And when you win the Fund, there's a financial grant that comes with that, which was really helpful. It's a learning curve. And don't get me wrong, I've had some great mentors over the years, for sure. But people always ask, "How do I find an amazing mentor?" And I'm like, "To be honest with you, the best mentors that I've had along this way are my friends and my community of other women, where we can be honest with each other and support each other and give each other the information.
We hadn't had a sales month that was that low in the history of my business, basically. Our stores closed. None of us knew how long this was going to last for. My partners were telling me, "Oh, it's probably going to be at least until August, September.
I know that it's not a sexy thing to talk about, as a luxury brand, but I would rather be honest and pivot my business, so that I can keep my staff on payroll, than not pivot and not want to talk about it and just instead lay a bunch of people off, because I don't want to admit that things are kind of tough during a pandemic.
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