Celebrity Fashion Stylist, Brittany Diego on Passing Down Her Knowledge of Fashion Through ‘Fashion Mentor’

Brittany Diego is a celebrity fashion stylist who has created many of our favorite fashion looks on stars such as Draya Michelle, Karen Civil, and Dani Leigh to name a few. With much knowledge and many years in the industry, Diego has made it her mission to pass down her knowledge of the fashion world to black creatives across the nation through her educational platform, Fashion Mentor. We caught up with her to discuss the inspiration behind Fashion Mentor, what she’s currently working on, and much more!

Did you always know fashion would be the path you would take in life?

Yes, 1000%. You know in school when they asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up, I always said I wanted to be a fashion designer. That was all I knew at the time but for some reason, the kids would always laugh at me. I knew from ten-years-old that I wanted to work in fashion. Before I knew what, reverse engineering was, I reversed my life to make sure I ended up on that path of having a fashion career. I found a fashion high school here in Los Angeles. They taught us how to sew, history, and even required us to do internships. I did my first internship my senior year of high school and that was my first introduction into the real fashion industry. Of course, I majored in fashion in college and I did a bunch of internships for design. I then realized; I didn’t really like design (laughs). It wasn’t really what I thought it was, so I switched to styling. The company that I was at did everything in house. I thought it was so cool stylists got to play with clothes, dress models, and be on photoshoots all day. I thought, how can I get into this? That was when I decided, this is what I’ve always wanted to do. I just had no idea that styling was an actual job.

Where did the idea come about for Fashion Mentor?

I went to fashion school but once I got out, I thought I could walk into any fashion company and get a job. That was not the case at all (laughs). It was so tough. They taught us how to do the job, just not the career development skills to get the job. The fashion industry is so unique. I would always google stuff before an interview, questions, what should I wear, but there was nothing specific about the fashion industry. It’s so different from our cooperate counterpart. For Once I started posting behind the scenes of me styling and getting my career going, I had a lot of people ask me questions. It got to the point where I had this copy and paste response because a lot of people were asking me the same question. I wanted to create a blog to send people to instead of having to type it over and over again. It started off as a blog of all the things that I learned in fashion school, like where to find jobs, what kind of questions to expect in interviews, what to wear, and that blog then turned into events. I did panel events here in Los Angeles, spoke at fashion schools, and now we have virtual classes, digital products, and workshops (which we hope to resume when it’s safe to do so). It’s turned into this whole fashion community.

You’ve worked with big names in the industry such as Dani Leigh, Draya Michelle, and much more. Has there been a client that has left a special mark on you?

Yes, I love all my clients (laughs). But I would say Karen Civil. She has left the biggest mark on me. You always hear about people being a boss and entrepreneur, but she is it! She lives and breathes it. She is so admirable. Watching the way, she operates and how she handles her team and business is amazing. You can read all the business facts, but nothing compares to getting that in-person, seeing someone move. The way she moves is so admirable. She has given me great invaluable advice that I will never forget and take with me everywhere I go.

You recently became a member of Forbes’ For(bes) The Culture. What are you looking forward to most about using this platform in the face of the fashion industry?

I’m super excited to be a part of For(bes) The Culture because my ultimate goal is to move the needle with people in fashion. The fashion industry is known for taking from Black culture and trends, but they don’t give the proper credit. My goal is to hold all of the companies accountable, who were posting that Black square this past summer. I want to make sure that Black creatives are actually hired and getting in those positions that they deserve to be in. They may be overlooked because of the color of their skin or maybe their name. My goal is to provide people the knowledge and skills for Black creatives to reach their highest potential in the fashion industry.

photo by TOTL

What are you currently working on and what can we expect to see from you in the future?

We’re currently accepting new students into our Fashion and Stylist Academy. That is where I’m giving the career blueprint to aspiring stylists and teaching them the ins and outs of the industry. The fashion industry tends to be very secretive. That’s something that I encountered when I first got started. I want to pay it forward and really create something where these stylists can have a community to ask questions. It’s not the typical online course, it’s me guiding them. We’re looking at expanding that. Once we are able to do in-person events, be on the lookout for more stylist workshops.