Interview With Brother Vellies Shoe Designer Aurora James

On wearing your own designs:

"You have to walk a million miles in the shoes. If you can't walk in them, they aren't serving you."

On her power to empower:

"The idea that something [African people] have been doing for generations, like beading, now gets attention in the Western World makes them really proud. For so long, no one wanted to wear it, or if [Western designers] did show African-inspired things on the runway, they didn't involve anyone from Africa. So they're over the moon that more people in the communities are being hired for fashion.

On her efforts to be sustainable:

The fur we use is either a byproduct or it's repurposed from vintage pieces. In Kenya, there's a bunny farm where they've been eating rabbit for a very long time. The leather and fur is something they've never been able to do anything with. So if we use skins from the farm where they're already eating the meat, then we've created a second stream of income. That's a plus. But on the flip side, other people are like, Fur is murder.' You can never really win; you just have to make individual choices that you feel are best."

On why more people aren't doing eco:

"It's hard. When you start making sustainable choices, it also makes things more expensive. For example, for spring all our leather is chrome free. Geez, talk about effort. Chrome is't bad for the person who's wearing it, but it wreaks havoc on the environment in the tanning process."

On the changing tides:

"If you want to say something, you go on Instagram and just say it. We're in a new frontier. Everything is being disrupted, and in that sense there's a lot of opportunity. I mean even me being here. I'm a journalism school dropout. I learned everything I know about making shoes from people in Africa. I didn't go to Central Saint Martin's with Alexander McQueen."

On her plans for growth:

"I've always wanted to expand beyond shoes. Handbags, which I launched for spring, are one part of that. Hats are next. I love them and I wear them. But as much as I want to do many things, I also acknowledge the importance of doing one thing really well. My mom always says, You don't want to become a master of none.'"

On being her brand's ambassador:

"I never considered when I started the line that I needed to be an ambassador for it. I was never like, Well, I better pluck my eyebrows.' But to me, the story behind what I'm doing is important and I want to tell that. Also, growing up, I didn't see a lot of people that looked like me. Scary Spice was the only one, and she had a special place in my heart."

On her muses:

"Riley Montana is an epic model, but she's also about to be an epic performer. It's 2016. We don't have the same boundaries, like, You can only be a model' or You can only make shoes.' I also find Kanye West really inspiring. He says what's on his mind. I don't discount men in the inspiration process. A really good man will be there to support a woman in the way she needs to be supported."