The Streetwear Queen

The everchanging world of streetwear has always been heavily dominated by men since its introduction in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s with its large influence from hip hop, surf culture, skateboarding, punk, and Japanese street fashion. Present day, there are so many women making a huge impact within this sub-genre of fashion, and they are making powerful chess moves in the process.  

Aleali May is a Los Angeles-based designer, creative director, and stylist who is known for her ability to blend streetwear and luxury (Ferere 2024). Via social platforms like Instagram and Tumblr, she has created a name for herself with stylish photographs of herself wearing personally selected garments which has inspired many to follow suit. She is revered as an important voice for the future of fashion, as the second woman (and woman of color) to design Air Jordans for both women and men making her a pioneer in the industry.  

When asked about her biggest inspirations growing up, she said “When I was growing up, we were in an era where fashion was still being fed to us via magazines and music videos, which is where I drew most of my inspirations from.” She credits artists like Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Kimora Lee Simmons, and mainly Aaliyah, as style icons that she would fashion herself after. “These women were huge representations for me because they actually looked like me. Aaliyah had a tomboy style that I completely identified with. She showed me that you could love baggy clothes and still be a girl. I was drawn to any girl of that time who was confident and fly!” 

After attending Columbia college in Chicago and doing some major modeling and styling in between (with major clients like Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar) she got her biggest break in 2017 when she was offered the chance of a lifetime, to design footwear for the Air Jordan brand (Rodriguez 2023). “In 2016 I was re-introduced to reps from the Jordan Brand who I had met previously during my time in Chicago while working at the RSVP Gallery. It was a full-circle moment that reminded me that you never know who’s still watching.” She stated that the opportunity opened her up to the sneaker world and its playing field. She is credited as the first woman to design a unisex sneaker for the brand, and the second woman to design a shoe for the brand in general, since its inception in 1984.  

She based her first Air Jordan sneaker design on Los Angels fashion in the 90’s, choosing the NFL Raiders color-way as the design’s colors (Dodson, 2021). She wanted to pay homage to South Central Los Angeles and has proudly crowned her first design as her favorite of the five she has released, saying “It was my first design to the world and solidified to me that anything is possible, especially when you do the work.” 

The ever budding creative has expressed desires to collaborate with brands like Chanel and Loewe and is completely open to working on projects within the Automotive industry as well as tech. “I would love to co-design a Porsche or a Mercedes G-wagon. As long as I can get one for my own, I am completely down for a collaboration like that, 100%.” She said jokingly.  

Women are becoming more and more prevalent in many arenas we were once kept out of, and the change is apparent in many industries including fashion, which is ever changing. Aleali is highly enthusiastic about an even more eco-friendly future in fashion and realizes that the advancement of technology will impact how we see fashion in the future. “Using recycled materials and doing things like vintage shopping are all helpful in saving our planet. We have to view it like quality over quantity at this point, making us more conscious of the decisions we are making.”  

As inspirational as she has been to so many and having accomplished so much within these last few years, even having a Mattel Barbie fashioned and created in her likeness, it is apparent that she has no plans in slowing down. “I want to continue to create and design for all people, but mainly people who may feel like the outcast, as I once did. I want to continue to provide more options, creating designs that make people feel special and that may help boost their self-esteem. You’re always going to get quality with me, as well as a good design with much thought and consideration put into it.”