Mariella Faura is a Diva Dyke
Written by Daphne Bryant
Dyke Queen is the brainchild of Mariella Faura, a designer and full-time student born and raised in LA. The 21-year old has many talents, and though not all of them are ones she chooses to share with the world, she did share that her first creative passion was acting.“ Even as a child…I wanted more creative, serious roles. Like, I thought of myself as a serious actress,” Faura laughs. Like acting, Faura was also always interested in fashion, especially high fashion. From a young age, she and the rest of her family were always dressed prim and proper, which fostered pride in what she wore, and how she presented herself to the world. A younger Faura would comb through red carpet pictures, award show recaps and her mom’s magazines, entranced by the images she saw.“ I always was drawn to shock value fashion and things that everybody [else] thought was ugly or crazy. Like Lady Gaga’s meat dress! I was like eight, seven, or however old I was, and people thought‘ this is gross’, but I thought it was really cool. I’ve always liked the weird things that other people didn’t really like.”
“I always was drawn to shock value fashion and things that everybody [else] thought was ugly or crazy. Like Lady Gaga’s meat dress! I was like eight, seven, or however old I was, and people thought‘ this is gross’, but I thought it was really cool. I’ve always liked the weird things that other people didn’t really like.”
How did this love for shock value fashion evolve into a full-blown clothing brand? The story begins in Faura’s senior year of high school. Faura grew up in a supportive household, with a family who had always affirmed her in her gayness. They had a rainbow doormat in the front of their house, which is where Faura was stuck this particular day, writing college essays and staring at her computer screen. She needed a break, so she went for a long walk and when she returned there was a man…peeing on her yard.“ I had confronted him like,‘ Hey man, why are you peeing on my yard?’ I don't even remember half the things that I said, but I was trying to rationalize with him. I was genuinely confused and getting more angry because obviously, I'm going into fight or flight,” says Faura. Being the only person home with a strange, combative man in your yard: that’s definitely grounds for some discomfort. The strange man in question started walking towards Faura, and as soon as she ran to her door to try and get inside, the man started slinging slurs at her:“ Yeah, run along to your little gay friends, you dyke!”
The words crashed into Faura like a truck, and it was the first time she’d ever been the target of direct homophobia on her own. The man got on his bike to leave and yelled“ go dyke yourself out”, and that was the last of it. Over the next few days, Faura attempted to process the hate crime, the words Dyke Yourself Out stuck in her head:“ What does that even mean? Like I’d never heard it before. If you're gonna call me a slur, at least use it in the right way!” says Faura. She, like many victims of oppression, was able to find humor in the incident.“ I kept thinking I kind of want that on a shirt. For a year I just kept sitting on this thought and this idea. When I got to college, I was like,‘ Okay, I have a lot more time on my hands now and I need something to do.’” Faura finally put Dyke Yourself Out on a T-shirt, from there began thinking about other things to put on shirts, and thus, the idea of the business was born. From this horrible, scary situation came a rather funny phrase. As a designer, Faura is taking words that are used to hurt queer people and cut us down, and flipping the meanings on their heads.
Apart from putting herself at further risk for a potential hate crime, choosing to put the word dyke on a shirt was also a business risk.“ Nobody was really [doing it]. There were a very select handful of products that actually had the work dyke on it. I was telling my friends about the [brand idea], and a few of them actually expressed concern,” says Faura. Fair enough. It’s a strong word, and not much existed with it on at the time. Even including the word in the brand name was a difficult choice, and finding people to model the clothes was even harder. In the beginning, models were hesitant to wear the clothes because of the cultural context that dyke holds. Luckily, these days a lot of people use the word dyke and own clothing with it on. That’s reclamation and revolution in a really special way!
One of the most impressive things about Faura’s work is that she’s entirely self-taught, and, for the most part, runs Dyke Queen on her own. Faura jokes that she’s not as social-media savvy as her Gen-Z peers, and that she leans on the support of family and friends for things like photoshoots and marketing. Anyone who has started their clothing business knows how hard starting from scratch can be: designing and producing the clothes, reaching out to people, picking up products, even markets and events…things start to add up! Still, Faura has managed to create timeless art that shocks and surprises. The clothes themselves take inspiration from iconic lesbian and gay rights movements of the 60s, 70s and even the 80s. “ I remember seeing [queer] shirts in these old photos, [and they were] such cool shirts.” A lot of those older designs were screen printed, so Faura chooses to screen print her items as a nod to that tradition and form. The nostalgia and sentiment of it is admirable, and speaks to the forever fashion trend of taking things from the past and making them anew.
Don’t take it from me though; take it from King Princess, the latest queer icon to don Faura’s Dyke Queen designs. How did the famous singer acquire her Gay Uncle custom? After Faura’s NYC pop up, she became mutual friends on Instagram with a girl named Hannah Pinson, who hosts queer sapphic nightlife events and just so happens to be really close friends with KP herself. Faura didn’t wait for her destiny to come to her; she made it happen herself and sent Hannah an Instagram DM offering to send her and King Princess free items or customs. Hannah enthusiastically agreed, raving about the brand and its mission.“ I sent [the clothes] off and you know, they loved it. They loved the shirts, they loved the quality. And whenever you do gifting, you don't expect them to necessarily wear your clothes and tag you and the whole thing, you know, it's kind of a gamble. But, you hope that they do eventually,” says Faura.
On a random Tuesday a few weeks back, Faura’s mom asked whatever came of sending the shirts off. Hannah had posted, and Faura had gotten a few followers from that, but still nothing from King Princess. However, the artist did have a tour coming up, and the designer’s fingers were crossed that maybe, just maybe, she’d wear it whilst doing press.“ A few hours later, I'm about to go to class, I open up my phone, and then this Them reel comes up, and I see rhinestones on a black shirt, and I'm like,‘ Wait a minute. That's my shirt!’ I was like,‘ Oh, my God, this is huge’. This is major,” Faura gushes. King Princess was the very first lesbian musician whose music Faura liked and connected to, which was huge for her at a time when she was looking to connect with the greater queer community.“ That [little] girl inside of me would have never thought in a million years that this would happen. So it’s awesome and I’m very grateful for her support and her genuine love and appreciation for what I do. Having that mutual gratitude and recognition for each other is a dream come true!”
Sometimes, it’s really just about putting yourself out there and seeing what happens. Other celebrities Faura would love to design for are Julia Fox and Troye Sivan.“ My Terror Twink T-shirt is not very popular, but it could be popular…if Troye wore [it]!” Faura jokes. Well, you heard her! Let’s get him started ;)
One Dyke Queen shirt that Faura really loves, apart from the OG, is her Diva Dyke tee. She had herself in mind when she was making it, as it speaks to the femme experience of going out and wanting other queers to know you’re one of them, not just a straight friend that was dragged into a gay club.“ It doesn’t help when I have long nails and everything, you know?” says Faura.“ I thought femmes needed something. I think there’s divas in all of us, and I think [putting Diva Dyke] on a cute, fun pink shirt, with the screenprint, or with the rhinestones, made the [top] something that can be easily worn and styled.” It’s in your face, but like most of the items Faura makes, that’s kind of the point.
“I thought femmes needed something. I think there’s divas in all of us.”
What’s next for Dyke Queen? Faura and I talked about the possibility of another event. It’s been a while since she last did one, with the most recent being a pop up at Custom Land in LA, a pop up a vintage store in New York’s Chinatown, and a queer prom fundraiser with Junior High LA.“ That [Junior High LA] event came together through asking for favors. In the beginning, you have to ask for favors, and the people who are willing to answer those calls and emails are the ones who really matter the most. They’re there to support you 100% of the way. I really enjoyed the pop ups and this kind of queer prom party because it was more of an experience.” In the future Faura wants to do more of these experiential events, and plans to partner with other businesses. Events are more traditional methods of marketing and getting the word about your business out there, and for Faura, it’s the community building aspect that’s most appealing, as opposed to social media awareness. Maybe no more markets though…
As a clothing brand and platform, Dyke Queen aims to honor the exclusivity of dykes within the community, and within those who identify with the name as well. Faura’s legacy is a continuation of the activists and creatives that came before. Her advice for aspiring designers? Just go ahead and do it. When you keep things in your“ My Eyes Only”, it’s easy to limit yourself and censor your ideas, hindering your full creative potential. Whether you’re simply designing, making a website, doing topical research or going out and sourcing materials, all baby steps matter. Also: indulge yourself.“ I literally indulge myself everyday. I’m like ‘I am going to be famous’ and I just have to be a little bit delusional about that. The person inside of us who wants more and who dreams big is like our inner child. And it’s the boring, wah wah adult in us that’s like‘ you sound crazy’. You can’t listen and let those voices win,” says Faura. So! Be delusional, dream big, and hold on to your wildest dreams. Balance the adult you with the child you, and be willing to step outside of the box!
