Amira Rasool
American entrepreneur
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Amira Rasool is an American entrepreneur and former fashion journalist.[1] She is the founder of The Folklore, a company that distributes fashion and lifestyle products from Africa and the African diaspora.[2][3]
Amira Rasool | |
|---|---|
| Born | South Orange, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
Early life and education
Rasool was born and raised in South Orange, New Jersey. Rasool developed an early interest in fashion and started a fashion blog during high school. While attending Rutgers University, she interned at various magazines, including Women's Wear Daily and Marie Claire.[4] Her blog led to a two-year internship at the trade publication Women's Wear Daily beginning in 2014.[5]
She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in African American and African Studies from Rutgers University and later earned a Master of Philosophy in African Studies from the University of Cape Town.[6] Rasool has said that a trip to South Africa during her senior year of college was where she decided to start a business; she moved to Cape Town after leaving V Magazine.[5]
Career
Rasool worked as a fashion assistant at V Magazine and has contributed to Marie Claire, Glamour, Teen Vogue, and others.[7][8] Her work primarily focused on Black culture in relation to fashion, travel, music, visual arts, and social justice.
The Folklore
In 2018, Rasool founded The Folklore, an e-commerce platform offering fashion and lifestyle products from Africa and the diaspora.[9][10][11] In its direct-to-consumer phase the company sourced products, arranged shipping and handled last-mile delivery for customers in 20 countries, including the United States.[12] The company initially began with a $30,000 investment.[13] Rasool was 22 years old when she started the company.[14] It later expanded to include The Folklore Shop, an e-commerce platform offering a curated selection of sustainable and diverse global brands.[15]
In April 2022, the company launched The Folklore Connect, a membership-based business-to-business platform on which retailers apply to browse and order from vetted brands; it opened in beta with ten brands, among them Rich Mnisi, and ten retailers.[16] The wider business was reorganized as The Folklore Group, with the original retail site becoming a shopping aggregator and a media arm, The Folklore Edit, carrying interviews and industry analysis.[16] The pre-seed round that funded the launch was led by Slauson & Co., with participation from the Fearless Fund and Black investors including the WNBA player Nneka Ogwumike.[16] In 2022, Rasool raised $1.7 million for The Folklore.[17]
In 2023, The Folklore Group announced a partnership with Nordstrom, the largest retailer to join the platform at that point; The Folklore Connect then listed more than 100 brands.[18] The company has also held seasonal showrooms during New York Fashion Week; its third annual showroom, in February 2025, featured 35 independent brands from countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia and Mexico.[19]
In 2024, she raised an additional $3.4m in funding for The Folklore, led by the venture capital fund Benchstrength.[20] The round was led by Kenneth Chenault Jr. and John Monagle, both formerly of General Catalyst, with participation from existing investors Slauson & Co., Techstars and Black Tech Nation Ventures.[21] By that point the company had raised $6.22 million in total, including $120,000 from a Techstars accelerator in 2021.[22]
Recognition
In 2024, Rasool was included on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.[23] In January 2025, Black Enterprise named her to its 40 Under 40 list, which recognized achievements made during 2024.[24]