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    The creator of luxury brand Brother Vellies is fighting for justice in fashion

    Shoes and accessories designed by Aurora James sell for hundreds, even thousands, of dollars. In Wildflower, James details how hard it was to get here and the imbalanced economics of high fashion.
    by Reena Advani Jul 06, 2023 5 minutes
    Wildflower is the new memoir from Aurora James, founder of the luxury accessories brand Brother Vellies as well as the Fifteen Percent Pledge.

    Three years ago, fashion designer Aurora James created the 15-percent pledge, challenging retailers to devote 15 percent of their shelves to products made by Black-owned companies.

    George Floyd's killing in 2020 had created a tidal wave in social justice. James wanted to also challenge companies to commit to economic justice.

    Since she began this quest, more than two dozen major retailers like Nordstrom, Macys and Sephora have signed on.

    James is the creator behind the Brother Vellies brand, luxury shoes that she designed on a shoestring budget until sales took off.

    "What most people don't know is that I work with artisans all around the world who've been historically excluded from participating in fashion," she told NPR's Michel Martin. "So people in Kenya and Ethiopia and Haiti and I really work with them on doing things

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