African Contemporary Culture & Innovative Design EnrichingGlobal Online Retail Scene | Amira Rasool

African Contemporary Culture & Innovative Design
EnrichingGlobal Online Retail Scene

Amira Rasool
Founder & CEO, The Folklore

Amira Rasool is an entrepreneur and writer based between New York City and Cape Town. Amira is the Founder and CEO of The Folklore, an online multi-brand concept store and wholesale e-commerce platform that distributes luxury designer fashion and lifestyle products from Africa and the diaspora to global consumers and retailers.

The Folklore's primary mission is to supply the world with greater access to luxury goods from Africa and the diaspora in a convenient, ethical, and curated manner. It also serves to provide a platform for designers and other creatives to share their stories and creative abilities with new audiences.

As a writer and fashion editor, Amira has worked with several notable publications including TIME, Vogue, Teen Vogue, i-D, PAPER, Glamour, InStyle, V Magazine, and WWD. Her work focuses primarily on Black culture in relation to fashion, travel, music, visual arts, and social justice.

Amira is also a passionate Black history scholar. For her undergraduate education, she attended Rutgers University, where she received a B.A. in African American and African Studies. She recently earned a Master of Philosophy in African Studies from the University of Cape Town.

The Folklore is an innovative online retail concept based in New York City. The Folklore stocks high-end and emerging designer brands from Africa and the diaspora, and serves as a cultural hub for contemporary brands, artists and creatives to showcase their personal stories.

Our carefully curated product-line reflects the diversity of Africa's contemporary urban landscapes and design aesthetic. We deliver apparel, accessories, shoes, bags, and homeware that can live in cities around the world, and be enjoyed by men and women who appreciate luxurious, thoughtful, clean and boundary-pushing design.

Exclusivity is key in our product selection process, we carry a limited stock of each product and a small curated list of globally recognized designers. Some styles are even one-of-a-kind and exclusive to our platform, and therefore cannot be replicated.

In addition to operating as an online concept store, The Folklore also provides wholesale services to African designer brands interested in penetrating the global retail market. Our wide range of services help brands reach new audiences and significantly enhance profits. The Folklore works as an intermediary to facilitate positive and rewarding wholesale business relationships between brands and retailers.

The combination of goods and services provided by The Folklore helps enhance the visibility and financial success of Africa’s garment industry while exposing a global customer base to exclusive designers and styles, some of which were previously unavailable to shop online or outside of Africa until now.