Tiffany Wong

Tiffany Wong is the co-founder of Velé. Velé, whose name comes from the Latin word “wanted”, a brand dedicated to empowering women on both the production and consumer sides of the fashion industry, making them feel worthy and wanted.  Tiffany, together with her co-founder, Lauren, had become disillusioned with the fashion industry and its commodification of women: on the production side, less than 5% of garment workers are paid a living wage (80% of those workers are women), and on the consumer side, the industry perpetuates harmful beauty standards and presents the message that women need to define their worth in material goods. Velé offers an alternative by working with a family-owned factory in Spain, where workers are paid three times Spain’s minimum wage, and by creating sustainable basics for all women. All of Velé’s pieces are also ethically produced, and the company focuses on producing pieces that stand the test of time. As if this isn’t enough, Velé also donates 10% of every purchase to Not For Sale, a non-profit fighting against human-trafficking. Velé’s dedication to inclusivity and sustainability stems from Tiffany’s personal experiences. Standing at 5’1”, Tiffany has often struggled to find clothing that fit and never felt that her body type was represented in the fashion industry. Sustainability has also always been important to her, and she started her career in fashion working for YSTR, a clothing company with an emphasis on environmentally friendly production. Though personally passionate about sustainable fashion, Tiffany noticed that the sustainable fashion space was often inaccessible to women of color, and she wanted Velé to be accessible to women of all races which she showcases through the diverse models on her site.  When asked what advice she would give to young women starting their own businesses, she advised that they reach out to as many people as possible. In Tiffany’s experience, people are very willing to help new entrepreneurs because they were once in those very shoes themselves.