Elena Velez

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Elena Velez
ELENA VELEZ, 2023.png
Elena Velez at the Met Gala, 2023
Born
Elena Velez

(1994-09-10) September 10, 1994 (age 31)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Alma materCentral Saint Martins, Parsons School of Design
OccupationFashion Designer
Spouse Andreas Emenius
Children2
Website www.elenavelez.com OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Elena Velez is an American fashion designer and creative from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, based in New York City. [1] Her work is known for its synthesis of metalsmith and high fashion and has been featured in the V&A Museum [2] and Barbican Centre. [3] Velez was a semi-finalist for the 2024 LVMH prize and the CFDA's 2022 Emerging Designer of the Year.

Contents

Described by Vogue as "explosive and aggressive", [4] Velez's work has been inspired by the aesthetics of the American Rust Belt and the new far right. Themes in her work include deconstruction, [5] "apocalyptic anti-heroines" [6] , and alternative construction methods, which include salvaged materials. [7] Velez coins her visual identity as "aggressively delicate" and anti-fragile. [8]

Early life and education

Of Puerto Rican heritage [5] but raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Velez claims in recent interviews that the "industrial" nature of her "nontraditional upbringing" as the only child to a single mother who is a ship's captain on the Great Lakes influenced her current artistic identity, which she says draws heavily on "the relationship between femininity and force". [9] With a beginning interest in design from early childhood, the first documentation of her developments appear in local TV news as a teenager in 2010. [10]

Velez studied at Parsons Paris from 2013 to 2015 and graduated from Parsons School of Design in 2018 with a BFA in fashion design and minor in creative entrepreneurship. [11] [1] Additionally in 2020 she received a Graduate Diploma in fashion design from Central Saint Martins in London. [1] Her BFA thesis collection was shown at VFILES Season 10 Runway, [12] and London Fashion Week, as a guest of the Swedish Fashion Council. [13]

Career

In 2019 Velez's work was exhibited as a Teen Vogue 2019 Generation Next designer curated by Editor in Chief of Vogue Anna Wintour. [14] Her work has received coverage in Business of Fashion , [15] [16] Women's Wear Daily , [17] WGSN, [18] [19] [12] [20] and other publications.

In February, 2021, Elena Velez Industries Inc. was founded with investment support from venture capital firms Gener8tor, and CSA Partners. [21]

Velez has dressed celebrities including Taylor Swift, [22] Solange Knowles, [23] Ethel Cain, [24] Julia Fox, Charli XCX, Eartheater Doja Cat, Grimes, Anna Delvey, [25] Teyana Taylor, Tinashe, [26] Jenna Ortega, [27] and others. [28] [29] [30] [31]

In 2022, Velez won American Emerging Designer of the Year at the CFDA Fashion Awards. [32] [33] In March 2023, she was inducted as a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. [34]

Velez attended the 2023 Met Gala as a guest of Balenciaga. For the occasion, she created a crackle medium screen print ink-gown for the artist Sasha Gordon as a nod to Gordon's painting career. [35]

Velez has been closely associated with scenes connected to Peter Thiel and the new far-right. According to the Washington Post, from 2024 Velez "aligned herself with the unsavory flavor of a tendentious downtown New York crowd, whose podcasters, media personalities and fashion- and art-adjacent figures rose to prominence under the aegis of 'Dimes Square'". The scene is known for it's "reactionary politics and associations with Peter Thiel." [36]

In February 2024 Velez hosted controversial EVSALON001 [37] , which drew on Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind. The Washington Post criticized the salon as "problematic" and "dangerously cheesy". Sohrab Ahmari referred to the presentation as a "weird racial" variation of the "Art-right". [38]

In 2025 Velez collaborated with controversial streaming platform OnlyFans [39] and designed the costumes for The National Ballet of Canada. [40]

Awards

Museum acquisitions

Collections

Salons

References

  1. 1 2 3 "statement | contact". elenavelez. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  2. 1 2 Rodgers, Daniel (1 July 2024). "Taylor Swift Has Left The UK (For Now), But 16 Of Her Outfits Stayed Behind". British Vogue. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  3. 1 2 "Barbican announces major fashion exhibition 'Dirty Looks' and a new Curve commission by Lucy Raven | Barbican". www.barbican.org.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2025.
  4. ↑ "Elena Velez Fall 2023 Ready-to-Wear Collection". Vogue. 14 February 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  5. 1 2 "The Puerto Rican Designer Finding Inspiration in War-Torn Society". PAPER. 24 July 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  6. ↑ Emma (9 November 2024). "Fashism". The Turtle Dove. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
  7. 1 2 "_and carry on". elenavelez. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  8. ↑ "Aggressively Delicate". Office Magazine. 29 January 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  9. ↑ Hairston, Tahirah (10 September 2019). "Meet The Designer Challenging The Idea of Femininity With Her Utilitarian Designs". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  10. ↑ "Elena Velez - Teenage Fashion Designer". YouTube. 27 March 2010. Archived from the original on 15 July 2017.
  11. ↑ Daren (7 August 2018). "2018 ELENA VELEZ". Parsons School of Design. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021.
  12. 1 2 "VFiles Spring 2019 Ready-to-Wear Fashion Show". Vogue. 6 September 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  13. ↑ Wightman-Stone, Danielle (11 September 2018). "First Challenge the Fabric Award to launch at LFW". fashionunited.uk. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  14. ↑ Hairston, Tahirah (22 August 2019). "Meet Teen Vogue's Generation Next — 6 Designers That Represent the Future of Fashion". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  15. ↑ "How Elena Velez Is Turning Buzz Into a Business". The Business of Fashion. 22 December 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  16. ↑ "VFiles Names Participating Designers and Launches Own Line". The Business of Fashion. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  17. ↑ Mercer, Emily (6 September 2018). "VFiles RTW Spring 2019". WWD. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  18. ↑ "User Login | WGSN | Creating Tomorrow". WGSN | Creating Tomorrow | Trend Forecasting & Analytics. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  19. ↑ "Снятся ли андроидам электроовцы? – новая бьюти-съемка Vogue UA". Vogue UA. November 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  20. ↑ "VFiles kicks off NYFW with Lil' Kim, a kiss cam, and its debut RTW line". Dazed. 6 September 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  21. ↑ "Premiere Night Accelerator Studio 2020". gener8tor. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  22. ↑ "Elena Velez's Witchy Creation for Taylor Swift's "Fortnight" Is Tortured Poetry at Its Core". Harper's BAZAAR. 23 April 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  23. ↑ "Solange Knowles covers Numéro Berlin Spring/Summer 2019 by Marcus Cooper". fashionotography. 19 July 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  24. ↑ "V141: The Reign of Ethel Cain". V Magazine. March 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  25. ↑ "Anna Delvey's Accessories Turned Heads as She Walked Runway at New York Fashion Week. Here's Why". People.com. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  26. ↑ "The New York Fashion Week digicam diaries: It's 2006 again, baby". Los Angeles Times. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  27. ↑ "Jenna Ortega's Deconstructed Corset Dress Is Chicly Falling Apart". W Magazine. 5 August 2025. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  28. ↑ "Julia Fox and Her Baby Wore Custom Elena Velez Looks to NYFW". PAPER. 11 September 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  29. ↑ "Elena Velez Explores "Romanticized Abstractions of Middle America" for FW23". V Magazine. 16 February 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  30. ↑ "In conversation with Arca". GLAMCULT.COM. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  31. ↑ Hahn, Rachel (7 August 2019). "Caroline Polachek Is Bringing Back Pirate Style for Her Latest Video". Vogue. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  32. ↑ Lockwood, Lisa (15 September 2022). "2022 CFDA Fashion Awards Reveals Nominees and Honorees". WWD. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  33. ↑ "Khaite's Catherine Holstein, Luar's Raul Lopez, and More Win Top Awards at CFDA Awards—See All the Winners Here". Vogue. 8 November 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  34. ↑ "CFDA". cfda.com. 3 April 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  35. ↑ WHEELER, ANDRÉ-NAQUIAN (2 May 2023). "Meet the Four Independent Designers Balenciaga Invited to the Met Gala". Vogue. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  36. ↑ https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/fashion/2024/02/12/fashions-problematic-fave-is-elena-velez/
  37. 1 2 "Elena Velez Fall 2024 Ready-to-Wear Collection". Vogue. 12 February 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
  38. ↑ Ahmari, Sohrab (14 February 2024). "The Weird Racial Right Plays Dress-Up". Compact’s Substack. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  39. ↑ Fike, Ashley (14 April 2025). "Controversial Designer Elena Velez Joined OnlyFans to Escape Outrage". VICE. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  40. ↑ "Creative Team". National Ballet of Canada. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  41. ↑ "Revitalize Brooklyn". Social Justice Fund. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  42. ↑ "Categories". Latin America Fashion Awards. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  43. ↑ Feitelberg, Rosemary (19 September 2023). "Elena Velez and Carly Mark: Emerging Fashion Disruptors". WWD. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
  44. ↑ "Elena Velez Is Bringing the Rust Belt to the Front Row". ELLE. 28 March 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  45. ↑ "The Fashion Trust US Announces First Finalists for Awards". The Business of Fashion. 9 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  46. ↑ "Puppets and Puppets, Elena Velez Win Fashion Trust US Awards". The Business of Fashion. 22 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  47. ↑ Solá-Santiago, Frances. "Meet The CFDA Awards' American Emerging Designer Of The Year". www.refinery29.com. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  48. ↑ "10 Distinctive Designers Make Up This Year's CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Finalists". Vogue. 26 April 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  49. ↑ Lockwood, Lisa (15 June 2022). "IMG, Empire State Development Reveal 10 Recipients of $500,000 NYFW Small Business Grant". WWD. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  50. ↑ "Meet Teen Vogue's Generation Next — 6 Designers That Represent the Future of Fashion". Teen Vogue. 22 August 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  51. ↑ "The VFILES Show designer Elena Velez is making metal corsets and garments from military parachutes". @vfiles. 12 September 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  52. ↑ "The CTF Award". thepinkprince. 9 September 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  53. ↑ "The New Village: Ten Years of New York Fashion". Pratt Institute. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  54. ↑ "Objects of Permanence | Abrons Arts Center". Objects of Permanence | Abrons Arts Center. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  55. ↑ "At The Museum at FIT, a New Exhibition Proposes a Nuanced Way to Look at Latin American Fashion". Vogue. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  56. ↑ Borrelli-Persson, Laird (10 February 2025). "Elena Velez Fall 2025 Ready-to-Wear Collection". Vogue. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  57. ↑ Borrelli-Persson, Laird (10 September 2024). "Elena Velez Spring 2025 Ready-to-Wear Collection". Vogue. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  58. ↑ "Elena Velez Spring 2024 Ready-to-Wear Collection". Vogue. 13 September 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  59. ↑ "Elena Velez Fall 2023 Ready-to-Wear Collection". Vogue. 14 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  60. ↑ "Elena Velez Spring 2023 Ready-to-Wear Collection". Vogue. 10 September 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  61. ↑ "Elena Velez Fall 2022 Ready-to-Wear Collection". Vogue. 12 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  62. ↑ Dazed (7 September 2021). "The rising New York designers who should be on your radar". Dazed. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  63. ↑ "homecoming". elenavelez. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  64. ↑ "vessel". elenavelez. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
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