A special round-up of ladies shaking up the business world.
YAEL AFLALO, Founder & CEO of Reformation
MINI BIO
Yael launched her fashion label Ya-Ya at the tender age of 21. After running it for about ten years she came at a crossroad when recession hit in 2008. Having to let go most of her staff and closing the company she decided to make the smallest comebacks ever by customizing some vintage dresses and selling them in a new store that she named Reformation. After spending the first five years as a small business, the company has now become one of the most recognized sustainable labels in LA, earning more than $9 million in revenue. Eco-friendly and relying on sustainable and vintage fabrics all of Reformation’s pieces are made from sustainable materials while all operations are contained within the LA headquarters, where clothing is designed, manufactured, photographed, packed, and shipped.
INSTA FEED
Relaxed daily LA life, a cute (really cute) dog having the good life, some travel and fashion shootings.
AURORA JAMES, Founder of Brother Vellies
MINI BIO
Aurora started working as a freelance creative consultant for Elite, Gen Art, Woolly Pocket and Thomas Wylde in Los Angeles. Her first trip to Africa was in Morocco in 2011 and sparked her entrepreneurial spirit. After the trip she spent a couple of years experimenting with design and different artisans and finally founded Brother Vellies in January 2013 with the goal of preserving the shoemaking craft in Africa and creating new jobs for the artisans. The first official collection launched in Spring 2014. Working with shoemakers in South Africa it now has workshops in Kenya and Morocco. The unique modern-day desert boots, shoes, slippers and sandals have been featured in the pages of Vogue and The New York Times and are on the feet of many New York it-girls. Pretty good for an independent fashion label only two years old.
INSTA FEED
Portraits with giraffes (yes she’s that cool), Brother Vellies shoes, colorful photo shoots, exotic destinations.
EMILY WEISS, Founder of Into The Gloss & Glossier
MINI BIO
Weiss started working as a fashion assistant at W magazine and as an assisting of Elissa Santisi, a style director at American Vogue. She started Into The Gloss as a side project in 2010, while working full-time, after spotting a gap in the fashion media market for beauty product coverage. Interviewing the creme de la creme of the make-up world and assembling a team of pros like Nick Axelrod, formerly news editor of Elle, and Michael Harper, the site’s pageviews tripled overnight since the relaunch in July 2012. The site now gets 8.5 million page views and 300,000 unique visitors a month as a resource for beauty product recommendations and tips. In September 2013, Into the Gloss announced it had raised $2 million, in a funding round led by Forerunner Ventures and Lerer Ventures, to build its team and in 2014 Weiss launched Glossier, her own make-up line, after a $8.4 million Series A round led by fellow young entrepreneur Josh Kushner’s Thrive Capital.
INSTA FEED
Into the Gloss behind the scenes, Emily’s selfies while going to meetings and some good inspirational quotes.
ALYSSA LAU, Founder of New Classics & Ordinary People
MINI BIO
23-year-old Chinese-Canadian girl from Edmonton, Alberta with a degree in Science that after a year and a half working in a Biochemistry lab, dropped everything to start her own e-commerce store and venture into creative direction and consulting. The online store called New Classics Studios, launched in October 2014 and is dedicated to sustainability and the ethical production of clothing. Her ability to curate and growing a steady and organic following make her one to follow.
INSA STYLE
Carefully framed self-portraits (not your typical selfies), minimalistic details shots and a lot of white.
PUNO, Co-Founder of IloveCreatives & MAP
MINI BIO
Graphic designer and photographer based in LA, Puno has been taking the Internet by storm in the last year. Co-founder of IloveCreatives, a curated weekly newsletter of creative happenings and opportunities, and MAP a mapping tool helping people to share their journeys by connecting images with locations, Puno seems to be behind every cool project happening in bustling LA. Having grown MAP community from zero to 96k followers in just six months, Puno is now giving Instagram classes and beta testing a tool for organizing Instagram leads and contacts. Read Puno’s interview with Freja here.
INSTA FEED
Eyeballs party posters, stunning LA hotspots and tons of fun events.
ROSA PARK, Founder & Editor of CEREAL Magazine
MINI BIO
Born in Seoul, raised in Vancouver, and educated in Boston and New York, Rosa started her career in luxury fashion and beauty marketing in New York. Since 2012 she is the co-founder and publisher of Cult Cereal Magazine, a quarterly travel and lifestyle publication based in Bristol, UK and GUIDED, a collection of bespoke, online travel guides. The first issue launched with a print run of 3,000 copies and today it has grown to 25,000 copies sold in 45 different countries and she now also run her own creative agency that builds and develops brand identity and marketing strategy.
INSTA FEED
Beautiful interiors photography, great hotspots and some flowers.
SAMANTHA JO ALONSO, Founder of Fruition and I’mPOSSIBLE project
MINI BIO
Born and raised in Las Vegas, Samantha dropped out of school and launched her first concept retail boutique FRUITION at the age of 21. The store filled the fashion-and-culture vacuum in Vegas, and despite having no experience operating or starting a business, she somehow made it work. Moving effortlessly among fashion, fitness and philanthropy, it’s no surprise that Samantha’s singular vision and worldview has prepared her to inspire all to follow their dreams and destinies.
INSTA FEED
Stylish jumps in front of monuments, workout motivation and lots of colorful sport clothes.
MOLLY GUY, Founder of Stone Fox Bride
MINI BIO
Molly Guy got her start in journalism as beauty editor for Nylon magazine and worked for several years for some ofNew Yorks best publications. But it’s in 2010, when she got engaged, that her entrepreneurial spirit sparked. While struggling with planning her own wedding, she realized that her ideal bridal boutique simply didn’t exist. Everything that she saw in the wedding industry lacked edge, beauty and style so she launched Stone Fox Bride an eclectic, groovy and enchanted wedding sanctuary. Voted “Best Anti-Bridezilla Bridal Showroom in New York” by Time Out New York, Stone Fox Bride carries a curated selection of bridal gowns, veils, headpieces, and rings and has now over 107k Instagram followers and a devoted clientele.
INSTA FEED
Lots and lots of rings, some vintage celebrity wedding photos and Molly’s cool family life moments.
HANNAH BRONFMAN, Founder of HBfit & Co-founder of Beautified
MINI BIO
Dj, model and entrepreneur with a passion for health and wellness, Hannah is the quintessential millennial it girl. Working as a DJ for fashion/art events and corporate clients worldwide, opening for stars including John Legend and curating music during Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week, she is also a tech entrepreneur having co-founder of the app Beautified, a unique mobile platform for booking last minute appointments in spas and salons, and HBfit an online wellness platform.
INSTA FEED
Hannah doing sport, eating yummy and healthy foods and showing her perfect body in the most relaxed way possible.
LISA MESSENGER , Founder & Editor of Collective Hub Magazine
MINI BIO
Growing up in the countryside near Coolah, Messenger spent her younger years riding motorbikes and horses through the bush and playing in the dirt. A down-to-earth upbringing that has helped her keeping it cool even in bustling Sydney. After several years of working behind the scene running her own communication company The Messenger Group. Lisa is now in the frontline with her publication Renegade COLLECTIVE, a glossy magazine focusing on lifestyle and entrepreneurial content. In a time where magazines are shrinking, or folding, Lisa, didn’t think twice before launching a monthly print magazine in over 11 countries.
INSTA FEED
Motivational quotes, Renegade Collective beautiful layouts, glamourous Australia events and Lisa spending time with her dog.
Featured Image, Aurora James
