Ayana Ife is the Founder and CEO of Ayana Active, a sustainable modest activewear brand designing innovative performance apparel that empowers women through intentional design.
With more than 16 years of experience in fashion design and product development, she combines creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship to create solutions for an underserved market.
A Project Runway alum, Ayana holds a bachelor’s degree in Textiles, Merchandising & Design from Middle Tennessee State University and a master’s degree in Brand & Business Management from Politecnico di Milano and Milano Fashion Institute. Her work has been featured in Vogue Arabia, recognized by Women’s Wear Daily, and recently exhibited in the Fashion–Faith: Rituals and Dialogues exhibition at Parsons School of Design.
Through Ayana Active, she champions inclusive design, sustainable innovation, and women’s empowerment, believing that the best solutions help people move through life with confidence, comfort, and purpose.
Passionate about entrepreneurship, innovation, and education, Ayana enjoys inspiring students and professionals to trust their strengths, build confidence through action, and transform ideas into meaningful impact.
One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned is to trust the strengths that come naturally to me. Sometimes those strengths feel so effortless that we overlook them. Innovation begins when we pair them with the courage to act—not because we have all the answers, but because confidence is built by moving forward anyway.
