Aleali May
Aleali May
Aleali May (born July 10, 1992) is a stylist, fashion blogger, model and most recently sneaker designer. She is 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.
She has become a celebrity image consultant, working with the likes of Kendrick Lamar and Kanye West, Lil Yachty, Jaden Smith, and Wiz Khalifa amongst others. The 28-year-old has also collaborated with brands such as EA Sports, Canon and Smashbox Cosmetics.
Early Life
Aleali May grew up in South Central Los Angeles in the 90s as a self-described shy tomboy, obsessed with sneakers since she was a child. It wasn’t until she moved to Chicago to study marketing and got a part-time job at the Louis Vuitton store that May realized streetwear and luxury fashion could co-exist.
As an elementary schooler at Hillcrest Drive Elementary School, May brought her accessory A-game on Fridays, when students were permitted to wear their footwear of choice.
“It was a competition if you came with the newest or rarest sneakers,” she says.
At age 16, she began purchasing shoes with money she earned from her first job at PacSun. She was voted best dressed at her Colorado high school, where she spent four years while her father was stationed in the military.
After graduation, May moved to Chicago to study marketing at Columbia College. She worked as a sales associate at Louis Vuitton before moving on to RSVP Gallery, a conceptual retail store owned by fashion designer Don Crawley (a.k.a. Don C.) and Louis Vuitton men’s artistic director and Off-White label founder Virgil Abloh.[9][10][14]
Career
Aleali May 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.
In October of 2014, she launched her fashion diary, AlealiMay.com. This self titled blog takes you through Aleali's outfits, work and leisure life. Most known for her personal style, Aleali showcases effortless fusions of streetwear and luxury on a consistent basis.
In August of 2017, Aleali signed with top modeling/creative agency, "The Society Management". Also serving as collaborator and consultant with renowned global brands, October of 2017 marks the day Aleali's first design collaboration hit the global market. Teaming up with Nike's Jordan Brand, this " Air Jordan 1 Aleali May" design ranks her as the second woman to collaborate, the first woman to release both men's and women's sizing with the Jordan Brand. Her second collaboration, the Air Jordan 1 Court Lux, was released a year later. She teamed up with WNBA star Maya Moore, who designed a Air Jordan 10 shoe. According to May, the kicks were released as Air Jordan’s first women’s pack.
In spring 2018, May teamed up with Jordan Brand to relaunch its women’s department through a campaign known as Season of Her, according to Nike.
This campaign marked the first time the sneaker giant has launched a full women’s footwear collection in its 35-year history.
Her latest — the Millennial Pink VI — was released on March 15, 2019 and sold out in less than five minutes on Nike’s Snkrs app.
According to e-commerce website StockX, the shoes now are worth about 150% more than their original retail price of $190.
Her other pairs are worth more on resale sites.
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.[11][12][13][15]
Social Media
She is a social media influencer on Instagram with a followers of 446 thousands on her "alealimay" account[8]