Elena Velez

Elena Velez (born September 10, 1994) is an American Avant-garde fashion designer and creative from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, based in New York City. Her work is known for its synthesis of metalsmith and high fashion and has been featured at the Rockefeller Center, V&A Museum and the London Barbican. Velez was a semi-finalist for the 2024 LVMH prize and named the CFDA's 2022 Emerging Designer of the Year. In 2025 Velez designed the costumes for The National Ballet of Canada. Described by Vogue as "explosive and aggressive", Velez's work has been inspired by the craftsmanship of the American Rust Belt as well as reactionary, counter-cultural aesthetics. Themes in her work include deconstruction, "anti-heroines", and alternative construction methods, which include salvaged materials. Velez coins her visual identity as "aggressively delicate" and "anti-fragile", frequently asserting the urgency of "transgressive art".