ABOUT AYA VELASE

Aya Velase is a contemporary women’s ready-to-wear fashion brand founded by Aya Mthembu in 2013 while pursuing his fashion and textiles studies at the Durban University of Technology, South Africa. Mthembu launched the brand with the desire to share the secret codes of Africa on the Global landscape of fashion, and he also launched the brand through winning various local fashion competitions which created a demand for his work, prompting him to craft his creative vision into a viable business model. After Graduating in 2014, Mthembu proceeded with plans to establish a commercial brand in the South African market. He then launched his debut Fall/Winter 2014 runway collection under his own brand at Mercedes-Benz fashion week, Africa fashion International during the Fall/Winter 2014 season. The Aya Velase brand (Previously known as Ayanda Mthembu) debut collection was followed by rave reviews from the fashion press all over the African continent, followed by numerous fashion publication editorial appearances and South African celebrity media appearances. With all the publicity generated through the Aya Velase debut collection and the Spring/Summer 2015 presentation thereafter, as well as Autumn/Winter 2017 and Spring/Summer 2017 recently, The Aya Velase brand is currently pursuing the South African fashion retail market with plans to expand into international retail in the next 2 years.