CHALAY. was founded through a merger of cultures.  Established in 2004 by its owner, Evolve, the company’s line of apparel are designed to celebrate the essence of cultural pride.

CHALAY. created its current line "... FOR THE WEEKEND," after coming of age in NYC and traveling to different places and events with friends; observing all types of people wanting to take part in one another's cultures.

"The concept of being a part of something that you weren’t born into is nothing new. Often times people wish to be included in something without feeling intrusive. [Our] kind of product affords people the opportunity to do that”.

CHALAY. debuted its first line of tees during the summer of 2003 at an annual West African Day gathering in upstate New York, attended by well over 8,000 people from across the United States. The idea for a line was inspired by a tee given to Evolve as a child.

“When we set up our booth at the picnic, we expected only Ghanaian people would purchase the tees because of what was printed on the front of them: 100% Ghanaian.

“To our surprise, we discovered that many people from different backgrounds: West Indians, Americans, Latinos, etc., wanted to capture the essence of that day through our clothing. Our apparel is meant to help you wear a feeling," explains Evolve.

“It was then we realized we were onto something.”