IN CONVERSATION WITH YASMIN DEVONPORT

interview by JANA LETONJA

Yasmin Devonport, a globally recognized creator, entrepreneur, and the founder of SELEA has built an audience of more than two million followers by sharing her passion for fashion, beauty, travel, and modern luxury. After spending five years developing SELEA, she launched the brand in April 2026 to remarkable success, with 85% of the debut collection selling out during pre-sale and the remaining inventory selling out within the first hour. Today, she’s redefining what it means to be both a digital creator and a hands-on fashion founder.

photography by CONNER MURRAY

Congratulations on the incredible launch of SELEA! What was going through your mind when you saw the collection sell out so quickly? 
Honestly, I think I refreshed the website about 400 times. I’d spent five years imagining the launch, but I hadn’t quite imagined everything selling so quickly. It was surreal, emotional and slightly chaotic, in the best possible way. Mostly, I just felt incredibly grateful that people understood SELEA from the beginning and believed in the vision. 

You spent five years building SELEA before launching. Why was it important to take your time instead of rushing to market?
Fashion moves quickly, but I didn’t want SELEA to feel rushed. I wanted to be completely sure of the identity, the quality and the reason behind every piece. Five years sounds like a long time, and it definitely felt like it at times. But building something you want women to wear for years probably shouldn’t happen overnight.

What inspired you to move from being a fashion creator to becoming a fashion founder? 
After spending years wearing, styling and talking about clothes, I became fascinated by what happened before a piece reached my wardrobe. Eventually, I didn’t just want to wear the clothes. I wanted to create them. SELEA felt like the natural next chapter, although admittedly one with a lot more spreadsheets. I also wanted to bring my natural taste into the world. I really think influencing is my bridge/stepping stone into becoming a brand owner. 

Was there a specific moment when you realized there was a gap in the market for timeless wardrobe essentials? 
I kept noticing that fashion seemed to offer two extremes: pieces that were exciting but dated quickly, or “timeless essentials” that could sometimes feel a little too sensible. I wanted to find the space in between, clothes you could wear for years that still made someone ask, “Where did you get that?”

SELEA is built around effortless, elevated, and enduring style. How would you define “modern luxury” today? 
Modern luxury isn’t necessarily about something being covered in logos or saved for a special occasion. It’s a beautiful fabric, an amazing fit and a detail that makes you feel instantly put together even when the rest of your life is slightly less organized. It should feel special without feeling difficult.

As someone who has worked closely with so many fashion brands, what lessons did you bring into creating your own? 
I learned that women remember how clothes make them feel. Beautiful imagery might make someone stop scrolling, but quality, fit and trust are what bring them back. I also learned that the strongest brands know exactly who they are, so with SELEA, I’ve tried to be thoughtful and consistent without taking all the fun out of fashion.

You’re known for being extremely hands-on with SELEA. What parts of the business do you enjoy the most? 
I love the creative side. Colors, fabrics, silhouettes, campaign concepts all the things that begin as a slightly chaotic collection of thoughts and eventually become something real. I’m very hands-on, possibly too hands-on, but I love seeing how every tiny decision contributes to the bigger world of SELEA. I am still learning, however, so I’m excited to see how my brand evolves whilst still working alongside the amazing brands I already love. 

How do you balance creativity with the realities of running a business? 
I’m still learning. Creativity wants to change everything at the last minute, while business would very much prefer that it didn’t. I’ve had to learn when to trust my instincts and when to listen to timelines, budgets and people who understand spreadsheets better than I do. My best decisions are very spur of the moment, and then my team brings me back down to earth. 

Your audience knows you for fashion, beauty, and travel. How have those passions influenced the design philosophy behind SELEA? 
Travel has definitely influenced the ease and escapism behind SELEA, the colors, textures and feeling of getting dressed somewhere beautiful. Fashion shaped the silhouettes, and beauty gave me an obsession with color and detail. I want the pieces to feel just as right on holiday in Mallorca as they do back in London, preferably with a glass of wine and my girlfriends matching what I’m wearing involved in both.

You have over two million followers across your platforms. How has your relationship with your audience evolved since launching your own brand? 
My audience has watched me wear and style clothes for years, but SELEA has allowed them to see what happens behind the finished photograph. They’ve seen the decisions, the changes and the work that goes into every piece. It feels more personal now because I’m not simply showing them something I love. I’m showing them something I’ve built. I also think they trust my judgement so much and that’s why I worry about getting it wrong, but that’s also part of it. I have a founding group that helps make decisions with me too, and I think community building is so important. I just want to make my girls happy.

Do you ever feel pressure to meet the expectations that come with being both an influencer and a business owner? 
Definitely. Being an influencer means people have opinions about what you do, and being a founder means they can now leave those opinions in your customer-service inbox too. But the pressure comes from caring. I want every part of SELEA to feel worthy of the trust my audience has placed in me, while reminding myself that no great brand arrived fully formed. Also, my brand might not appeal to everyone, but I still want to please those girls who might not vibe with certain collections, to still give them beautiful options from other brands, that won’t ever stop.  

For someone building a wardrobe today, what are three pieces you think every woman should own? 
I say with consistency, please have fun with your style. If you follow trends, your wardrobe will never feel like your own. It’s a curation of every thought, feeling and moment in life. I think a printed or some kind of fun blazer, a western style boot for me and the perfect dress you can go back to time and time again. I love fun, maximalism, prints. Don’t be afraid to have fun.

Entrepreneurship can be full of highs and lows. What has been your biggest challenge over the past five years, and how did you overcome it? 
The biggest challenge has been maintaining belief in the vision through delays, changes and the many things people never see behind a launch. There were moments when it would have been easier to compromise or rush, but I kept returning to why I started. Patience, resilience and having the right people around me ultimately helped me keep going. I have a really wonderful group around me who have helped with their knowledge. 

Looking ahead, what’s next for SELEA, and what can your community expect from you in the coming year? 
We’re only at the beginning, which feels both exciting and mildly terrifying. You can expect new collections, signature silhouettes and more of the wider SELEA world. I want to grow thoughtfully, listen to our community and keep creating pieces women fall in love with not just because they’re new, but because they feel like them. I also want SELEA to continue to be the woman I want to grow into personally. I want to evolve with her as we all do as women and for me the most exciting thing is that all of my girls will be in on that journey with me.