10 Black-Owned Shoe Brands To Build Up Your Confidence In Every Step

Discovering high-quality women’s footwear has just got easier with the steady growth of black-owned shoe brands. From stylish sneakers to elegant dress shoes, these brands blend fashion trends with functionality and social impact.

Let’s support these talented black shoe designers by exploring the unique designs and ethical stories behind them.

10 Black-Owned Shoe Brands To Build Up Your Confidence In Every Step

Brother Vellies

Brother Vellies was founded in 2013 by Aurora James. This sustainable brand aims to maintain handmade African shoe design practices and methods while supporting jobs for local shoemakers.

Brother Vellies shoes are widely renowned for their timeless designs and delicate ways of demonstrating African cultural stories.

Every pair of shoes, whether pumps, flats, or high heels, has colors that reflect the natural elements of this area.

Beyond shoemaking, Brother Vellies is also loved by the global consumer world in South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Mexico, Morocco, Burkina Faso, Haiti, New York City, etc., for its production sustainability.

The company uses recycled materials in its shoe models, like vegetable-tanned leathers, floral-dyed feathers, and by-product materials from farming activities.

It also maintains fair labor practices, which are rarely seen in modern commercial consumption.

Kendall Miles – Black-owned luxury brand

Kendall Miles by the Chicago-native Design Director Kendall Renolds, has been a staple among many black-owned luxury shoe brands since 2015.

This woman-led business has made a solid statement since its first days – black women can also benefit from luxury footwear.

Kendall Miles shoes perfectly balance luxury, quality, functionality, versatility, and accessibility. The shoes are handmade with the finest, ethically sourced materials from sustainable resources.

All these materials, especially exotic skins, dyed leathers, voluminous furs, and semi-precious hardware, are sourced from trusted suppliers of the brand in Italy.

These high-quality materials ensure that the shoes last for a long time with ultimate comfort for its customers.

Check more: 10 Popular Japanese Shoe Brands

Sunni Sunni

If you are looking for a trusted local footwear business specializing in sneakers, Sunni Sunni is the best choice for you.

Most of the shoes from this African sneaker brand are inspired by black culture and are reflected in creative, sophisticated details.

Most Sunni Sunni shoes are in classic color schemes, allowing you to use them daily to work, to the grocery store, or while walking in the park. The brand also offers unique models that you can reserve for special occasions.

Sunni Sunni also focuses on consciousness in its production. This sustainable spirit runs deep in every pair of shoes produced.

The Blutcher Split Runner is among these ethical choices. It is made with recycled leather and textiles.

Aminah Abdul-Jillil

Aminah Abdul-Jillil is an exception among these black-owned shoe companies. This luxury footwear brand was founded in August 2012 by Aminah Abdul-Jillil, a former dancer for many famous people like Britney Spears, and Janet Jackson, and also a Cirque du Soleil performer.

As Aminah started her brand after her third world tour with Britney Spears, she brought her inspiration to every pair of shoes of this footwear brand.

These creative designs range from various areas of life, including art, culture, fashion, and design. Thus, wearing these bold, feminine shoes means carrying artwork.

Aminah Abdul-Jillil is a phenomenon on social media channels. The youth favored the brand since its products were used by many big names like Rihanna and Tracee Ellis Ross.

To compete with well-established giants, the brand outsources its shoe production in China and distributes its goods to end consumers using the Direct-to-Customer model.

While this business operation optimizes the production costs, it also maintains top-notch quality across all products.

You can get Aminah Abdul-Jillil shoes in over 50 countries, especially in the U.S., Russia, Australia, the U.K., and the Middle East.

BrandBlack

BrandBlack is an affordable black-owned shoe brand that provides high-quality sneakers for men and women without breaking their wallets.

The brand’s founder, David Raysse, is the former lead shoe designer at FILA and the former Director of Basketball at Adidas.

BrandBlack ranges from general fashion sneakers and slides to performance-based shoes for specific sports (training, running, trail, and basketball).

Thus, you can enjoy these shoes’ comfort and excellent design while walking in the park or gym.

Beyond frequent brand releases, BrandBlack collaborates with many black celebrities, like Selehe Bembury, 4THSEX, Guillermo Andrade, and more.

These shoe collabs allow black-colored celebrities to demonstrate their creativity in footwear while strengthening the brand’s statement “We are the exception to the expected.”

Duckie Confetti

Fur slides and fur slippers are not for wearing at home, especially when mentioning Duckie Confetti. This black-owned brand offers fashionable fur footwear for men, women, and kids.

The most noticeable highlight of Duckie Confetti is that all of its shoes are in bold, vivid colors. They can include a pom-pom on their uppers, depending on the model.

If you often follow Hollywood celebrities, you can notice the appearance of this brand on Amber Rose, Beyonce, Meek Mill, French Montana, and more.

100% of Duckie Confetti products are made of animal fur from rabbits, lambs, and mink. These high-end materials maintain coziness and comfort while adding awesomeness to the shoes. You can wear them as home footwear, or outside with casual outfits.

Jessica Rich

Jessica Rich, the eponymous shoe brand by the American shoe designer Jessica Rich, is a trendsetter in the global fashion industry.

Its shoes offer exquisite designs and characteristics to make your outfits pop off the crowd.

Jessica Rich has built an empire of footwear for women, with a wide range of choices, from comfortable sandals and platforms, to feminine stilettos, mules, and boots.

The shoes are the favorite choices of famous stars like Jennifer Lopez, Megan Fox, Kim and Kourtney Kardashian, and Tony Braxton.

Jessica Rich shoes are widely available on various online and offline channels. The shoes can be bought from iconic retailers like Bloomingdale and Nordstroms or the Los Angeles Beverly Center brick-and-mortar store.

Most of Jessica Rich’s shoes are made by talented Black Footwear designers.

With the release of exciting shoe collections, especially the Transparent in 2017, this shoe designer wants to encourage Black females in America to never stop striving for their dreams.

J.J. Gray

J.J.Gray appeared at the New York Fashion Week in 2016 as a new emerging footwear business. Afro-Latina designer, founder, and CEO Jessica Perdomo started the brand coincidentally on her work trip to Spain.

Before J.J.Gray, she worked for Ralph Lauren and Salvatore Ferragamo. Since its beginning, this brand has appeared in many well-known publications, like Univision, Vogue, and Footwear News.

Leather is the first noticeable selling point of J.J.Gray. The brand chooses the finest leathers from reputable suppliers in Andalusia. These leathers are durable even in harsh weather elements, yet are soft and supple to the skin.

The shoe lasts of J.J.Gray are carefully handcrafted by skilled Spanish cobblers for maximum comfort on every step.

Nonetheless, they come with high-grade extra cushions and leather soles that mold to your foot’s contours over time.

Kahmune

Kahmune by Jamela Acheampong starts with a simple ethical statement that no individual should be forced to change their skin tone.

Following that statement, the brand offers an extensive collection of “nude” shoes, including sandals, pumps, and flats.

All Kahmune shoes are available in colors based on 10 human skin tones. You can find shoes that suit your skin tone on the brand’s official website.

Or, if you are unsure about the hues, you can order free leather swatches from the brand, or send a picture of your ankle skin to let the team pick a color that best matches you.

Furthermore, all Kahmune shoe designs are made of genuine Nappa leather from trusted Italian leather providers. The leather is durable yet relatively comfortable to the touch.

Keeyahri

Stepping out of corporate life, female Art Director Keya Martin started Keeyahri to empower young, confident women with luxury footwear.

In the next 5 years, the company aims to become a lifestyle brand, expanding its portfolio to other products than shoes.

All Keeyahri shoes come in vivid and unique colors, assisting women in reflecting their personalities. The shoes suit daily work outfits or special occasions when you need to shine.

No matter which style you purchase, high boots or pumps, you will be amazed by Keeyahri’s signature swirl heel design.

This heel design was inspired by the “Ribbon Chapel” in Japan by Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP. It gives you a unique confidence you have never experienced with other footwear products.

Final Words

The global footwear industry is buoyed by the emerging growth of the best black-owned shoe brands.

Each brand offers a wide range of products catering to the diverse consumer market, whether it be the ethical craftsmanship of Brother Vellies, or the luxurious designs from Keeyahri and Kendal Miles.

Let’s make meaningful choices for the future by supporting and celebrating these footwear brands, starting by using their products.