Dylan: Her Doctrine
Threads of a New Religion
INTERVIEW BY: EMILY ARAUZA
JUNE 13th, 2025
Just at 21, Dylan is rewriting what styling looks like when it’s personal, emotional, and unapologetically instinct-driven. One foot in the bridal shop, one in the studio, piles of fabric on the floor, sketches everywhere—she moves like someone who already knows where it’s going. She’s not chasing looks.
She’s building a feeling. A world. A name.
The work nods to McQueen, Margiela, Mugler, Rick—but none of it feels borrowed. It’s Divine. Her own universe, stitched from emotion, phases, moods, and moments that hit too deep for surface-level fashion.
This interview is a look inside that universe. We talk about creative survival, not having a Plan B, soundtracking your process with French techno, and designing for women in a way that feels spiritual. She’s planning a pop-up. A runway. She’s got a vault of pieces no one’s seen yet.
Dylan’s not hoping for success—she’s betting everything on it. There’s no fallback. No “if it works.” It has to. Because when fashion is your language, your therapy, your only way forward, you don’t try. You do.
Dylan: “I’ve been working as a stylist for maybe 6+ months now and just started at a new bridal shop, and lowkey I’ve been doing super good. I love it there, as for designing I’ve been doing it since 11th grade. Right now, I’m finishing up my fashion merchandise degree and planning on going to either a fashion design trade school or getting a scholarship.”
Emily Arauza: “That’s amazing, Dylan. When would you say you first fell in love with styling and design? How old were you when it all started, and how old are you now? Also, what do you see yourself doing in the future—what’s the bigger vision for Divine?”
D: “I’m 21 years old and turning 22 this year. I've loved styling and fashion since I was young. My mom has pics of baby me doing my own runways. In the future my goal is to have my own fashion label. I have a vision for an entire store, as well as being a stylist for others for formal events or shoots. Maybe some creative directing? I used to model a little, I’ve been thinking of getting back into it. I really want to do another runway, I have so many clothes.
EA: “That’s really impressive. It’s clear that your passion for fashion has been with you from the start, and it’s inspiring to see how you’ve continued to grow in it. The vision you have for your own label and store sounds ambitious and well thought-out, and I can definitely see you excelling in styling and creative direction. Do you feel like your background or upbringing has played a role in shaping your love for fashion?”
D: “My mom has always been very open to letting me experiment with who I am, I’ve been all over the place since a young age. And I feel like my art definitely can reflect that.”
EA: “Having that kind of support from a young age makes such a difference, especially in a creative field. It’s amazing that your mom gave you the space to explore and be expressive. And, being “all over the place” can be a strength. It brings variety, perspective, and originality. Do you feel like your designs reflect different parts of you or different phases you’ve gone through?
D: “Yes definitely, some shoots or concepts I’ve done have stemmed from emotion, things I’ve been through, personal views I have, or even just how I’m feeling in the moment or what I like in the moment. I like to have a balance between styles. Which is gonna be something I heavily play on in the future.”
EA: “That makes so much sense. When your work is rooted in emotion and personal experience, it hits on a deeper level. That balance you’re building between styles and moods sounds like it’s going to set your brand apart in a real way. Who would you say inspires you creatively—whether it’s designers, artists, musicians, or even just people in your life?”
D: “Heavy on Alexander McQueen, and Marginal. I love them. As well as undercover and Rick Owens. Music wise I find French techno or any kinda dark funky music to be fitting. In real life I find inspiration in everything: my friends, family, my job, nature. I love psychedelics too.”
EA: “McQueen and Margiela definitely make sense with the emotional depth and structure you’ve been describing—there’s that blend of storytelling and edge. And I can totally see how Rick Owens and Undercover influence the more experimental, moody side of your style. I’d also like to add: it sounds like you’re not just creating clothes, you’re building entire atmospheres. How do you usually start when bringing a concept to life—does it begin with a visual, a feeling, or something else entirely?”
D: “Sometimes I look around on either Pinterest and see what I can find that I think is cool or shopping around luxury stores, I love fashion magazines. But a lot of the time I just jump into it whether I have an idea or I’m just sewing and making cool stuff for funsies. I just enjoy doing it in general so when I have a concept I can always just imagine the fit from the emotions behind it and just make it happen if that makes sense.”
EA: “It’s great how you combine inspiration from external sources with that spontaneous creative flow. It sounds like you really trust your instincts and let the process guide you, which is often where the best ideas come from. When you’re working on a project for a client or a shoot, how do you balance your personal creative vision with what they’re looking for?”
D: “You always have to listen to the client. You are their stylist. You just know how to put one thing with another to elevate the look, I can style someone how I think they would look super cool, which I get to do sometimes. At the end of the day, especially at work. I work in bridal styling right now, so wedding dresses, bridesmaids and all that. It's THEIR dream dress not mine or what I think they would look best in. In my opinion it's understanding how they wanna look and feel and showing/dressing them head to toe. While I would like to be someone’s stylist like I have full control of the fits, that would be sick. I wanna definitely sell clothes i've made individually and all together how I styled them. Cause then it's kinda a mix of both but in MY WAY. Well before I started as a stylist my moms always told me I'm very good at selling; I've been told I'm very convincing, but definitely with my job my sewing and tailoring knowledge does come in handyMugler is also a huge inspo I love their funky patterns and proportions/silhouettes.”
EA: “That’s such a grounded perspective. Knowing how to listen to the client while still using your eye to elevate their look—that’s a skill a lot of people overlook. Especially in something as personal as bridal styling, it’s true: it’s their vision, and your role is to help bring it to life with intention and taste. The idea of selling pieces you’ve made and styled yourself is powerful. That way, you’re still offering people a full look, but it’s completely curated by you—your world, your aesthetic. It sounds like the perfect blend of creative freedom and business strategy. Do you see yourself eventually doing custom pieces or one-of-ones for clients?”
D: “Yes absolutely! My goal for my brand is to design wedding dresses for my clients similar to Vivienne Westwood, her gowns are to die for. Would definitely have my own “Pre-made/pre-designed/off the rack” designs but of course would offer custom tailoring/customizations. I didn’t realize how much I love bridal and special occasions til recently, I mainly work with women (hell yea) and so far they have all been gorgeous angels. The feeling of finding the one for your client is such a good feeling, like this week has been awful. Very bad week this week but yesterday at work my sales goal was $690 and I crushed it and sold 2,557.89. You can tell I'm hyped because I remembered the amount down to the cents haha. To anyone in the Houston area, let me find you the one for your big day! I love designing and styling so much.”
EA: “The vision of your brand sounds so strong already. Off-the-rack pieces with that Divine twist, plus custom bridal designs in the spirit of Vivienne Westwood? That’s a lane only you can fill. And the fact that you crushed your goal this week—even with everything else going on—says a lot about your drive. You’re building something special, for real. So what’s the next move? A runway? A collection drop? Pop-up shop? I feel like something big is brewing.”
D: “I think the next move is my own independent runway. I've been wanting to do an independent one for a while now but have struggled getting it organized. I think I will try out an idea I had for a “runway” soon. That and August 2nd I believe I’m doing a pop up shop/vending booth for my designs so I definitely wanna get lots of content out of that. But yes, something big is brewing, I have so much inventory nobody has ever seen and I’ve been working on really refining my look and becoming the most me, me if that makes sense.”
EA: “It really sounds like you’re stepping into a new chapter—one that’s fully aligned with who you are and what you want your brand to represent. And that pop-up in August? That’s the perfect launchpad to finally share all those unseen pieces and get people tapped into your world. Has anyone ever given you a piece of advice that really stuck with you—something you still carry with you through everything you’re building?”
D: “Never stop creating, never stop being creative and just to be yourself and the best version of yourself. Just go for it.”
EA: “That’s such simple but powerful advice and clearly something you’ve taken to heart. Just go for it, stay true to yourself. It’s the kind of mindset that really separates people who dream from people who do. What about you—if you could give one piece of advice to someone wanting to go down the same path as you, whether it’s styling, design, or building their own brand, what would you tell them?”
D: “Just work as hard as possible and learn as much as you can, get as much experience as possible, meet new people. It's all about connections in the industry. It took time for me to work into the stylist industry and I’ve so far been able to level up by putting in the extra work and time. The commitment to what you’re doing has to be there or it will never work. You have to be dedicated. No plan b no other option. For me at least I look at it like this or death. This or nothing because I don’t work to my goals in fashion / art I would be dead. I can’t live without it. I’ve tried working as a server and I just couldn’t, like the money was good, but I felt like I was wasting time I could be using in fashion. Which is why I’ve worked into the styling industry and so far have excelled at it.”
