Aurora James
On her personal style:
“I’m pretty feminine with my style, but I also like to be comfortable. I wear a lot of dresses and the emphasis (being a shoe designer) is usually on the shoes. I love a whimsical shoe for sure!”
On her perfect Sunday:
“Walk to the Brooklyn Flea, I usually stroll there with my friend Anja, who is also part of the Brother Vellies team. She has a young daughter, so it’s fun to see the flea market through her eyes!”
“All of our shoes (Brother Vellies) are handcrafted with love in Africa.”
Her thoughts on Nutrition and Health:
“Fish oil is essential for me. It did such a a great job transforming my skin, nails and hair. Dr Passler has taught me that every body reacts differently to things. A program that works really well for my best friend might be a disaster for me. It’s about testing and figuring out what feels right to you.”
“Feeling good is an important part of style to me. Typically these days women feel the most confident when they feel beautiful, so in a sense it goes hand in hand.”
“Pimples bum me out. I wish I could say I didn’t care about that, but i do.”
“Honestly, blush has been my under the radar saviour for years. Blush and Moisturiser. Everyone looks a million times more awake with those 2 things.”
“I brush my eyebrows. I stopped waxing them a couple of years ago because i couldn’t keep up with it and it’s been amazing.”
“I usually beg the hair dressers who style my hair every now and then for shoots to ‘dust off the ends.’ I’m starting to feel like i should be doing more. I’m kind of obsessed with Lizzie Arneson though, she creates dream hair. I would love her to cut my hair sometime.”
“I’m obsessed with Coconut Oil, Bumble and Bumble Salt Spray and Lucas Pawpaw Ointment for lips and any cuts and scrapes.”
“I can’t live without Origins A Perfect World with SPF 25.”
“I wash my hair every 7-10 days and only use sulfate free shampoo and conditioner. I don’t use heat on it except for the day i do my blow out. I think the fish oil really helps.”
On her signature scent:
“I love Byredo Bal D’Afrique, it’s very beautiful. I love unisex scents.”
“I’m a walker, so I will walk 2 hours and be totally fine with it. But when it comes to the gym I dread it all day. Which is a shame because I literally just signed up for a gym membership this morning.”
On her dirty little beauty secrets:
“Nivea cream on my lips. I’ve been doing that since 6th grade when we would take ski trips. I think it’s more common now.”
“I go to this under the radar facialist in Williamsburg at a place called Audrey Spa, she is amazing and i think a very well kept secret.”
Aurora wears Chanel Gabrielle Lipstick.
On her words to live by:
“I don’t go to sleep to dream – Fiona Apple.”
On the important things in life:
“Happiness, love and being grateful that everyday i have the luxury of choice which sets me free.”
On her career advice:
“You have to hustle really really hard in your 20s. You’ll remember the promotion but you won’t remember the party. Your worst case of FOMO will happen when your 32 with no good job prospects. Just DO the work and do it for yourself, nobody owes your anything. Having Instagram followers is not an actual skill set. Don’t put your photo on your resume.”
On her favourite designer:
“I have an entirely new respect for anyone who has made it through the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund. Anna Wintour is not playing games, it’s the Olympics of Fashion, plus a doc-series so you’re filmed for 4 months. But if i HAVE to pick a favourite – Ryan Rouch.”
On her most treasured item of clothing:
“I am very attached to the Gucci dress i wore when i won the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund. I always say it’s sort of like my wedding Dress. I also have my grandmothers fur coat, It’s extremely near and dear to my heart.”
On her earliest beauty memory:
“My grandmother was very, very into moisturising. From a young age i would watch her lather her face, neck and décolletage in Oil of Olay. She was loyal to that brand for some reason despite my mother trying to ween her off it. I admire beauty product loyalty that was so common in previous years, it seems lost on our generation.”
As the Creative Director, Designer and Founder of Brother Vellies, Aurora James has whole heartedly taken on the job of shifting the narrative in the fashion industry to one of awareness, equality and an understanding of what it truly takes to be a brand with intention.
In just a few years, she has us all wanting to know who is behind the brands we wear, who actually makes the clothing or the accessories we buy and most importantly, has us all considering the purpose that lies behind the brand.
Recently, Aurora was nominated by Anna Wintour in the CDFA Awards for Accessory Design, and previously she’s won the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund. Also Kanye sits front row at her shows. Just saying.
So when we rolled up to her Brooklyn house come studio that she shares with photographer Jason Hardwick, let’s just say we weren’t disappointed. As you can expect, her wardrobe was filled with Valentino fur, Gucci dresses, vintage coats (including one passed down from her grandmother), pieces from her travels, and quirky one-off pieces (here’s looking at you, Jimmy Carter Ronald Reagan wall dolls).
We also knew we were walking into a potential shoe mecca but nothing prepared us for the rows of Beaded Maasai Sandals accented with brass buckles and hand dyed feathers, shearling Souk Sandals, shearling mules…there’s a point where you want to play it cool and not rip off your converse high tops and try on every pair. So we waited until she left the room.
But when we really got down to the serious business of rummaging through her beauty gear, we were intrigued at the mix of the natural vs the heavy duty, her obsession with Origins and her very low key hair routine, which sees her wash her hair every 7-10 days (hint? Only using heat when blow drying on day one, and a lot of bumble and bumble product).
And her make-up routine is refreshingly as low-fi; her daily MO consists of blush (“her under the radar saviour”) and lots of moisture in the form of Origins ‘A Perfect World’ range. Which is apt, because being immersed in Aurora’s world, for just a day, certainly felt like something . And summed up nicely in how she starts every day, “happiness, love and being grateful that every day I have choice, sets me free.” Amen to that.
Photographed by Kelly Geddes. Words by Carlie Fowler.
