Aleali May Conquered Sneakers. Jewelry Is Next (EXCLUSIVE)
Since working at Virgil Abloh and Don C's RSVP Gallery, Aleali May's fashion journey has been one to watch. The designer made history with her initial Jordan sneaker — a tastefully textural take on the Jordan 1 High "Shadow" — becoming the first woman to design a unisex Jordan sneaker.
Each of May's sneaker collaborations is a unique blend of her LA roots and luxury tastes, making them more than just shoes. They are a wearable reflection of her journey and a connection to her upbringing. Plus, her sneakers typically turn out to be exceptionally good-looking.
But that's not all. May recently launched her own fashion line, Mayde, bringing her famously cozy style to the masses. She also designed Clarks Wallabees in several colorful corduroy flavors previously. Between her aspirational 'fit pics, she has extended her stylish reach to work with fashion labels like UGG and Louis Vuitton.
Oh, and she has her own Barbie doll.
May has conquered many areas, including sneakers and fashion, nabbing historic firsts along the way. Her resumé is only lengthening as she takes on the creative director job at GRWN, a lifestyle jewelry brand specializing in lab-grown diamonds.
You've probably seen GRWN's jewelry on May, who has frequently sported the chunky butterfly pieces from the upcoming Metamorphosis collection.
As GRWN prepares for its first launch, May talks about her journey to the big role, her affinity for jewelry, and the future she envisions for the brand and herself as a designer. Together, they aim to reshape conversations around luxury and sustainability.
Can you tell us how the GRWN role came to fruition? How do you feel about being creative director?
I'm nervous, but also I'm really excited. I've been working on this project since late 2022.
Back in the day, I used to work at 424, which is owned by Guillermo Andrade. Guillermo actually introduced me to Jordan [Pollak]. Jordan is a brand strategist and also works on collaborations. Jordan's dad, Michael, has been in the jewelry industry for about 50 years. He's super dope, super cool, and very open to learning.
Michael saw the opportunity for this next generation of consumers to think sustainably while still representing ourselves. And Jordan wanted to create his own separate lab diamond brand.
When deciding on GRWN's creative director, they thought of me, and here I am. This is my first time as a creative director of a brand.
You're pretty much the creative director of whatever project you're working on. My Jordan collaborations and other projects were the perfect experience for me in preparing for this job.
My last Jordan release was the Air Jordan 14 Fortunes in 2021, which centered around both of my grandmothers gifting me Jade as my first piece of jewelry. When [Michael and Jordan] presented GRWN to me in 2022, I thought it was the perfect opportunity.
Being in fashion and getting dressed every day, accessories and jewelry pieces mean so much. This is a really dope evolution.
It's definitely a full-circle moment. Congrats on the role. Why is it called GRWN?
GRWN plays on the message of the diamonds being lab-grown. There's a lot of greenwashing in the lab diamond industry. We pride ourselves on transparency and being clean.
One of the taglines is "grown diamonds," followed by "the sun." All of our diamonds are actually grown by the sun using different techniques.
Which piece from the GRWN collection means the most to you? Is there one that makes you very proud?
You've probably seen many of the big butterfly pieces I've been wearing. We love Mariah Carey. But outside of that, butterflies resemble evolution and a piece of nature. Being a Cancer, I'm very much about nature.
The butterfly also represents my journey. I started out in this cocoon, in this incubator of streetwear, and all these experiences led me to today. I think a butterfly was just the perfect motif. I feel like a lot of people just love butterflies and relate to them, too.
Butterflies are more feminine, but GRWN is unisex. We want everyone to feel welcome and represented. This is a great opportunity to showcase people who look like us and design something for us in the luxury space.
I know you've collaborated with Martine Ali previously. Was there any point early in your career that you knew you wanted to work in jewelry? Or was it more of a gradual step?
It was definitely a gradual step. When you're young with a nameplate necklace and bamboo hearts, that's like your first foray into jewelry. The jewelry pieces that are passed down are also monumental. When I really got into fashion, I had a deeper understanding of adding accessories to outfits.
When I met Martine [Ali] in Soho, she gave me a sample cage bag that she made. From there, it was a gradual relationship. She's a great friend and super dope.
We planned on dropping a collaboration around 2019. Then, everything happened in 2020. Fast-forward to 2021, and we were ready to bring out that collection but add some newer pieces. It was great.
Even then, I didn't see myself getting into designing fine jewelry. It was about living in the present and linking with dope people who understand each other's vision. It's all about community.
That's where we headed with GRWN: How do we give someone luxury and make them feel included?
GRWN is where you can come for aspirational pieces and where kids can come and get inspired by a design. Our consumer is us.
We interviewed you a few years back, and you said you had over 300 pairs of sneakers, which is crazy. I'm sure that collection is bigger now. But how many jewelry pieces would you say you have in your collection?
About a good 100 pieces. Whether it's low-tier price or high-tier, I'm always into whatever looks cute. I'm gonna stunt in it.
My sister and my younger brother come into my closet and have a ball.
Are there any cultural jewelry pieces that speak to you and your personal style? Any influences?
I would definitely say Ghostface Killah and, obviously, Pharrell. People are still buying Pharrell's stuff from auctions so that just goes to show that no one has topped these items.
I have always looked at women rappers like Lil Kim. She always had the craziest chains, and she was definitely doing it. I reference her a lot. Her music has many diamond references, like "diamond cluster hustler." That just sounds so bossy.
I loved Kelis in "Bossy." She had a grill with canary diamonds.
Even Aaliyah had the baby Rockefeller chain. Of course, I think of girls like Kimora Lee Simmons. Missy Elliott would wear a full adidas tracksuit with a gold rope or something. I loved to see how the girls were wearing jewelry.
You mentioned community, and the press release touches on Virgil Abloh's Fashion Scholarship Fund. Can you tell us more about GRWN's philanthropy and community aspect?
Philanthropy and community definitely coincide. I feel like if you're doing one, you're doing the other.
I never thought that I would be doing fine jewelry. And many people have been great mentors to me along my journey. But it all goes back to being those kids at a certain point in life and saying, "I want to do this, but I need someone to help me walk this path."
We want to help empower that spark. How can we pay it forward? How can we build this community of young designers who want to feel excited about what they're doing?
That's why we partnered with the Virgil and Shannon Abloh's Fashion Fund Scholarship. Again, this is a very circular moment for me.
We definitely want to create more opportunities for the next generation in the luxury space and help the community understand that we are here. That part exists by standing on business for 2024 and beyond.
What does the rest of your 2024 look like?
2020 was pretty much my last year styling. It was time for me to step forward as a designer, creative director, and model.
Coming into fashion, I didn't have somebody who walked me through the door. It was my community that helped me achieve these dreams.
I want to hone in on being present in this moment. I'm always gonna get a 'fit off, obviously, but my main focus is design.
I've worked on GRWN every single day for the last year and a half, and hopefully, we'll keep working on it. I'm definitely a woman with many different email and text threads going on.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
