Aleali May
BORN
July 10, 1992
BIRTH PLACE
Los Angeles, CA, USA
BASED
Los Angeles, CA, USA
WHO
Stylist, fashion blogger, model and most recently sneaker designer Aleali May is a fashion tour de force bar none. Known for her effortless fusion of laidback streetwear and luxury, the self-professed sneakerhead (boasting 300-something sneakers) snagged an exclusive collaboration with Jordan making her one of only two women to ever design for the Nike-owned brand – and the first woman to create a unisex Air Jordan.
Paying tribute to her L.A. roots, she created two original colorways of Jordan 1’s in 2017, blending corduroy, chenille and satin. This was followed by teaming up with WNBA superstar Maya Moore for the Maya Moore x Aleali May Court Lux Collection in 2018, which was more a noughties celebration of basketball, hip-hop, fashion and skateboarding. And then in 2019 the “Millennial Pink” Jordan 6 dropped. They sold out within minutes.
Born in South Central, L.A. started out in fashion working part-time at the Louis Vuitton store in Chicago during her marketing studies in 2010, which led to a gig for Don C and Virgil Abloh’s RSVP Gallery. On the back of that, and upon returning home to Los Angeles, styling gigs for Kendrick Lamar, Lil Yachty, Jaden Smith, Jeezy and Wiz Khalifa followed, amongst others.
As a result of her strong connection with Jordans (collecting them since she was a kid) and her interest in women’s representation in streetwear, in 2017 the collaboration with the brand came into fruition.
The Vice President of the Jordan Brand’s women’s business, Andrea Perez, spoke to Highsnobiety about the collab at the time: “We look to partner with brands and individuals such as Aleali – who authentically connect to Jordan Brand and the community. [Aleali] inspires young women to stay true to themselves without limitations.”
May also featured in the Unbanned: The Legend of AJ1 documentary released digitally in 2019 charting the history of Air Jordan 1 and Michael Jordan’s first shoe.
