Elena Velez

Elena Velez

Elena Velez (born September 10, 1994, Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an American fashion designer and creative based in New York City. Of Puerto Rican heritage, she was raised as the only child of a single mother who is a ship’s captain on the Great Lakes — an industrial upbringing that deeply informs her work’s relationship between femininity and force. She graduated from Parsons School of Design and completed studies at Central Saint Martins in London.

Velez founded Elena Velez Industries Inc. in February 2021 with investment support from venture capital firms Gener8tor and CSA Partners. Her work is known for its synthesis of metalsmith techniques and high fashion, and has been featured at Rockefeller Center, the V&A Museum, and the London Barbican. She was named the CFDA’s 2022 Emerging Designer of the Year, inducted as a CFDA member in March 2023, and was a semi-finalist for the 2024 LVMH Prize. In 2025, Velez designed costumes for The National Ballet of Canada. She has dressed Kanye West, Taylor Swift, Solange Knowles, Ethel Cain, Julia Fox, Charli XCX, Doja Cat, Grimes, and Jenna Ortega.

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