Is Elena Velez the First ‘Post-Woke’ Designer?

Elena Velez, a 29-year-old fashion designer, knew she was poking the bear. In the lead-up to the debut of her latest collection at New York Fashion Week last Sunday, she struggled to find a makeup artist willing to paint her models’ faces. And she had a hard time landing sponsors to fund the event. At the last minute, about half of her guests canceled (Julia Fox, however, still turned up).