The big change you’ll soon see in Sephora stores

Sephora’s announcement calls out the importance of James’ work, her mission, and businesses’ responsibility to take action. “We’re joining @15percentpledge and @aurorajames. We recognize how important it is to represent Black businesses and communities, and we must do better. So, we’re starting now,” the post read.

James is keen to come up with concrete solutions to bring Black-owned businesses into mainstream fashion, because she knows the pain of trying to keep a Black-owned business alive through trying times. “We were all in such a tough spot [during the pandemic], and the only financial support that I got was through A Common Thread—I couldn’t get any business loans because I wasn’t eligible for any of them, and I knew I wouldn’t be,” James tells Vogue. “Ninety-five percent of Black businesses aren’t.” 

The designer has another concrete objective, and that is how to bring change to the mainstream fashion industry. “There has been a lot of talk over the past however many months about retooling the fashion industry and what that might look like in terms of sustainability,”James tells Vogue. “But no one was really asking how people of color and Black people fit into these new business models in a really impactful way. People weren’t putting metrics on that.”

Given James’ drive and determination, we can expect 15 Percent Pledge lead the conversation on how to create a more inclusive fashion industry.