Shoe Designer Spotlight: Aurora James for Brother Vellies

Aurora James is a phenomenal woman on a fashionable mission. All of her shoes are handmade from different regions of Africa such as South Africa, Morocco, and Ethiopia. Her traditional African designs are lavishly bold, yet highly unconventional. Her contemporary shoe line, Brother Vellies, stems from an African desert shoe called 'velskoen.' What I admire is the concept of taking a traditional design and modernizing it with the materials. Hence, African tribal fabrication. From Kente materials to cowhide hair and a dash of metallic, Brother Vellies collection has a bohemian feel to it that can blend well with casual and business assembles.