VFILES launched in 2012 with the mission to demolish the opportunity gap, build open-source creativity, and invent a creative democracy. In 2021 VFILES launched the VFILES FOUNDATION, a non profit organization with a simple goal – to empower creative change makers who can impact systemic change. The non-profit invests in creators from underrepresented communities to enable socioeconomic mobility and empower sustainable wealth creation. Both the year-long fellowship and discovery program are designed to help selected creators execute across their creative, business and impact goals.
VFILES Foundation offerings will span across incubation, education, grants, R&D, and policy. The Foundation’s flagship programs are VFILES Lab, a grantmaking incubator for creators and original thinkers, VFILES Discovery, a platform for creatives to physically showcase their work, and VFILES Academy, a free online education platform for the larger community of creative entrepreneurs.
VFILES Alumni include a range of artists, musicians, designers. Supported by incubation and promotion, VFILES talents have gone on to: become LVMH Prize Finalists & Semi-Finalists, CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund Winners, Woolmark Prize Winners (and various other fashion awards); sign deals with major record labels; sell collections to top-tier luxury stockists; and have designs worn by industry icons and celebrities (e.g. Rihanna, Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar, Solange, Ariana Grande, Rosalia and many more).
Julie Anne Quay is the Founder and CEO of VFILES and the VFILES FOUNDATION. She is a Partner at Alternative Press, a Director/ Co-Owner of Barnsley Football Club (UK, and an adjunct Professor at the Roc Nation School of Music, Sport & Entertainment.
VFILES is a global pop-culture, fashion, and music epicenter encompassing a creative-focused social network, live experiences, merchandise, and original programming that connects a global youth community. The platform encourages collaboration between its Gen Z /young millennial community in design, fashion, art, music, and more. It is, in a word, a movement.
In fashion alone, VFILES is in part responsible for launching the careers of Shayne Oliver behind Hood by Air, and Virgil Abloh’s Off White from the well-known incubator at 12 Mercer St. What’s more, hundreds of young fashion designers, artists, DJs, models, stylists, hair and makeup artists, and photographers have gone on to work with the world’s biggest influencers all through VFILES Runway whose last two seasons alone each garnered more than three billion media impressions. Brand partners include Nike, Adidas, Sprite, Pepsi, MTV, Calvin Klein, Mac, and other global culture-focused leaders.
In music, VFILES LOUD presents online and IRL events that showcase young musical talent from A$AP Rocky, Cardi B, YG, Young Thug as well as talents like Lil Yachty and L’il Uzi Vert, Brockhampton, and Coi Leray.
In acknowledgment of her influence across the board in the worlds of both fashion and music, Quay was named one of BILLBOARD’S top 25 influencers in fashion and music in 2016. As the co-founder of the Australian Fashion Foundation, she was a special recipient of the G’Day USA award for her contributions to Australian Fashion in 2014, and a member of the Hypebeast 100 in 2016.
Quay was a Soul Cycle instructor for over a decade and is a former triathlete and college tennis player, a believer in the connection of exercise and personal growth. Quay is a graduate of Melbourne University, Australia with majors in Music and English literature. She teaches The Energy of Creativity at the Roc Nation School.
