Ask around, and you will find that Devan Wallace is something of a fashion legend, and her resume is the first thing people bring up. She’s worked at Fendi, Bottega Veneta, Bally, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton, to name a few. Her roots go back to Washington D.C., where Wallace was born and raised, and where she grew up with a strict mindset on the idea of independence and how important that would be for her as a woman. Initially, she wanted to work in politics to help people – in fact, in high school, she was class president and interned on Capitol Hill, where she enjoyed the energy politics produced but not so much the environment, which she felt didn’t allow much room for transparency or self-expression at the time. Now, she’s the Director of Marketing and Communications at Matte Projects, a creative agency and production company in New York City with a list of past and present clients such as BMW, Reebok, Prada, WSJ, Chanel, ESPN+, and Google.

Wallace’s social intelligence and love for people have established her as a top public relations professional bringing many opportunities in and out of fashion her way. She wants you to know though that “this hasn’t been easy despite how glamorous it can appear from the outside.”

As a student at Temple University in Philadelphia, she changed her major three times – from Public Relations to Film to, finally, Communications. By her junior year, she decided to drop out of Temple and move to New York City, where she enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Technology to study Fashion Merchandising Management. One of the most important lessons she learned at FIT came from one professor who told the class, “in fashion, you’ll interview many people who are qualified for a position but ultimately the role will go to who the team wants to work with.” She quickly realized that who you are is just as important as what you know.

Let’s start from the beginning of your fashion pr career in 2012. How were you able to make this happen for yourself after you decided fashion was it?

It all started with an interview for an internship at Fendi. I went in to interview for an internship in the human resources department because I’ve always known that I was a “people person,” but instead of moving me to the next round for the HR position, the woman interviewing me suggested I go out for the public relations internship they were looking to fill. It was there that my outlook on what a career in public relations could look like changed, a stark contrast from the impression I gathered during my studies at Temple.

Fortunately, I ended up getting the internship, and from there, everything took off. By this time, I was in the second semester of my senior year at FIT, getting ready to graduate. I was working on my next move and a little anxious about getting a job post-graduation in such a competitive landscape with minimal internship experience. I applied for a paid internship at Mr. Porter, luckily landing that as my very first job post-college as they wanted recent graduates. The position only paid $7.25 an hour, if you can believe that, but these two internships set me up for success and quickly helped me realize that I was only interested in working in the luxury space.

Do you feel like you’ve made it in New York City and fashion?

For the longest time, even before I started working in fashion, Fendi was my favorite brand. When I got to FIT, I put the Fendi logo on my vision board and worked to manifest being a part of the brand, so my second time around at Fendi as a full-time employee was a genuine feeling of achievement. Truthfully, I’ve never felt that I’ve “made it,” but in reflection I definitely feel like I’ve experienced success in different areas throughout my career. The fashion community is very small. You never know who’s going to come into your life and give you an opportunity. In fact, I was recommended for my job at Louis Vuitton by one of my supervisors from my very first internship at Fendi.

I worked at Mr. Porter for about five months before I landed a role at Bottega Veneta after HR contacted me about the role via LinkedIn. I only spent 11 months working at Bottega because my boss at the time was promoted to Vice President at Fendi, and once there, he created a position for me on the team. I spent a few years working with him at Fendi until an opportunity at Bally crossed my desk. The VP at Bally used to be an editor with whom I had built a great working relationship, and she offered me that position. From there, I was recommended by several editors for a public relations manager role at Gucci, where I spent a solid year until Louis Vuitton reached out asking if I’d be interested in discussing an opportunity within the company; of course, I was.

The last position I had manually applied for was that paid internship at MR PORTER. From that point forward all of the companies I have worked with approached me one way or the other, the first being via LinkedIn and the rest of the opportunities through someone placed in my life. Looking back at how everything unfolded is a powerful sentiment to getting your foot in the door, having a great work ethic, and being yourself. The industry has worked for me that way, and I believe it is a direct reflection of doing my best work and bringing my authentic self to the job, along with some divine intervention.

Many influential names are on your resume. When you were coming up and getting your start, did you ever feel celebrated or acknowledged at work?

The experiences have been different from company to company. In some cases, I would have a great relationship with my direct team which felt great, but no relationship with upper management within the company. On the flip side, I remember being on teams with people I didn’t necessarily mesh well with, but felt that the company overall valued my presence there. Have I felt celebrated? In reflecting on my journey, yes, but I didn’t necessarily see it that way at the time. Looking back now, I can see how the work I put in and the results that followed are a direct correlation to where I am today. When I got the job at Gucci, a friend who’d been in the industry for a while reached out to me, saying, “My entire career I don’t think there’s ever been a Black person on the Gucci PR team.” That really surprised me. Being allowed in these spaces and receiving a message like that one comes with a lot of weight, and I’ve never really unpacked that. It’s an interesting realization to witness how people react to you being in the room. I don’t ever enter a room as a minority feeling like an “other”, and for the most part, my experiences have been positive, but this has been demanding work in so many ways; I always stress that this career path looks glamorous, but it is not easy. It requires a lot from you.

Tell me about some of the places you’ve been and the projects you’ve worked on. What has been your most noteworthy accomplishment up to this point?

I’ll be in certain situations or places in the world, like working a fashion show at the Louvre in Paris, and randomly stop to think about how in the world this young Black girl from D.C. ended up here. I worked at Fendi during the 90^th anniversary show in Rome, where the models walked on water at the Trevi Fountain. During my time at Gucci, we were at the Promenade Des Alyscamps in Arles, France, for our cruise show, basically an ancient cemetery, where fire was shooting out the ground as the models walked. When Beyonce released the single Formation ahead of the Lemonade album, that was a Fendi fur she was wearing while leaning out of that blue car. The day that dropped, it literally made me cry – it was such a powerful image and I felt so good to have contributed to it in some small way. I’ve had many insanely beautiful life experiences that I will never forget, but truthfully my most noteworthy accomplishment and hands down my favorite part of my career has been the mentorship aspect – fostering environments for growth for the coordinators, assistants, and interns and generally helping to set others up for success. It is the most rewarding feeling knowing that you entered a space, made room, and helped the next generation.

Let’s touch on a few deeper issues as it pertains to being Black in fashion. Have you ever felt skipped over or left out of an employment opportunity because of your skin color?

Personally speaking, I have gotten all of the big jobs that I wanted mainly because of how the opportunities have come my way through direct recommendations from people who know me and can speak to my work ethic, but there was a time I believe that bias affected a promotion I was up for. It would be completely irresponsible to say that bias, even unconscious bias, doesn’t exist or alter the way people are perceived by one another, especially in professional environments. As a hiring manager, I often wonder if some of the resumes I’ve reviewed and circulated would’ve even made it to the room if I weren’t there to push candidates forward.

On the concept of inclusion, what changes do you think need to be made for Black individuals in the industry to flourish as well as our white colleagues?

One of the most significant improvements that can be made for our community is access. I know that’s repeated time and time again, but it is true. If companies want a truly diverse workforce, then they have to do the work to make sure they’re tapping into a diverse range of communities throughout the recruiting process. They have to understand that access is something that affects the black community at every level. It’s not as simple as posting an opening on the FIT career site, because from my experience and time there, FIT is not a very diverse place. I always reach out to my community for recommendations when there is a job opening on my team or within my company, and because my personal community is quite diverse, the people I’m getting connected with to push forward for consideration directly reflect that. The question is, how do we make sure these resumes are still pushed through, whether I’m in the room or not.

How have you given back to your community through your power and positions?

Knowledge is power, and education is so important! I didn’t know this industry existed as a career path that I could pursue, and I completely fell into this work. Knowing that and being conscious, I’m always open to sharing and discussing my career path with anyone interested, even at times with people who blindly reach out to me via LinkedIn. Earlier I spoke about mentorship, so going a step further and truly being honest with people about what it’s like in this industry and making sure individuals are well informed and prepared for what’s expected is key. Having these discussions, mentoring, fostering connections and sharing any relevant information that I’ve picked up along the journey is my way of giving back. My hope is that everything I do is making it better and easier for the next person to enter this space.

Are there any Black Designers known or unknown that you would like to bring to the CFDA attention?

Yes, there’s this jewelry brand Khiry Official by Jameel Khiry, who I’ve been following for a while; the craftsmanship is fantastic. Brandon Blackwood’s bags are cute, functional and pack powerful messages. His line is really engaging and it’s cool to see he has built a strong connection with Gen-Z through the course of this year. I love Cushnie, and it is unfortunate that the brand is shuttering because she is so talented and her dresses made me feel so radiant and beautiful. I’ve also been following the journey of SCAD graduate Christopher John Rogers for a long time. I remember learning about him years ago, and it’s really awesome to see someone’s career blossom right before your eyes. A friend recently put me on to an interesting brand called No Sesso. I love their ethos and their T-shirts.

What are some of the things you think the CFDA should do to improve diversity and inclusion?

Listen! The CFDA just needs to listen. The root of the issue is that so many people within so many organizations look the same – it’s a comfort zone. The people within your organization are a direct reflection of how much you truly value diversity. True diversity is not just about skin color but also the mindset. You need people from all over the world and different social circles to come together in a room – bring together individuals from varying backgrounds who are aligned by objectives and the mission at hand. Also, understanding not to solely focus on diversity but also making space for equity and inclusion and understanding what that looks like but first, just listen!