Whether he’s wearing lingerie, jeans, or a business suit, celebrity stylist and designer Kyle De’Volle is comfortable in his own skin.
De’Volle, who identifies as non-binary gender non-conforming, tunes out other people’s opinions. “The only opinion that matters is your own,” he said.
De’Volle said he was confident at 14 and 15 when he was coming to terms with his sexuality, but he grew insecure as he got older. Reflecting on that time, he said he wished he had believed in himself more and not questioned himself.
“The advice I would give myself is that, looking back now, I’d be like, ‘you’re not alone and just fight on forward and don’t go through those years of like anxiety and depression because of other people’s negative beliefs,’” he said.
In the past two years, De’Volle’s grown to love himself again and appreciate his body. He wants others to love themselves too.
On the day of this interview, De’Volle received a positive Instagram message from someone writing to say thank you. The message read, “I have so much admiration and respect for you and everything you do. Thank you for giving me the courage to be unapologetically myself.” That positive message was emotionally powerful for De’Volle, who deletes negative comments on Instagram because he wants it to be a safe space for everyone.
Family
Growing up, De’Volle spent some time in the UK‘s foster care program. His birth mother was a single parent who struggled with drug and alcohol addiction. Foster care wasn’t a pleasant experience.“It made me feel very unloved and unwanted. I felt like I didn’t really want to be here a certain point, to be honest,” he said. “And then I was put into the care of a lovely lady
called Matilda, who adopted me when I was 13. She showed me what it was like to receive love and a generous healthy family environment to grow up and that’s what she provided.”
Inspiring others
A fashion industry innovator and influencer, De’Volle has worked with Rita Ora, Cara Delevingne, Bruno Mars, and other celebrities. Up next, he has a campaign with Gaultier; is working with an underwear brand; and he’s pitching a book idea about dressing from a different perspective. He loves hanging out with his dog, a King Charles spaniel named Bowie.
De’Volle is committed to supporting the LGBTQ+ family: “We need to be seen and we need to be heard and we’re living in a day and age right now, where everybody deserves to be seen and everybody deserves to be heard.”
He launched a platform and podcast, called c.4.k.e. (Courage 4 Kids & Equality) to support and empower teens in the LGBTQ+ community.
“I want to create something that inspires young people,” he said. “If I had had something like c.4.k.e. to listen to or to watch when I was going through like hard times or sad times, I might not have felt alone.”