We recently connected with Darrel DeWitt and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Darrel, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

Hopefully this won’t seem like a convoluted answer to a simple question. I honestly didn’t know or question it until way into my career. To give a little back story, I was the kid that often would hang out and listen to adults talking rather than playing with the other kids. I’ve always enjoyed friends of all ages. Because I always had friends that were older than me, from a young age I had several friends that worked in salons. I would hang out after school with them in the salon. Ended up being a hair model for a show and then started working the front desk after school. This very easily transitioned into going to cosmetology school without a lot of thought or effort on my part. A local boutique need someone to do hair for a fashion show. I fibbed about my experience and got the gig. Although I loved everything about what I’d experienced from my career previously. This was what sealed the deal and made me realize that this is my passion. I also have to add I didn’t realize until years later when my friends were graduating college and realizing they hated their career choices how fortunate I was to just “fall” into my lifelong career.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Because I started my career at such a young age I think I felt more fearless. I did my first fashion show and my first editorial without any doubt in my mind that I could pull it off. I love to work and take on new opportunities so I tend to say yes immediately when asked without really thinking it through. Now that I’m older and have realized I have a bit of imposter syndrome, I’m aware that has always helped to push me out of my comfort zone. In school when the other students would be hanging out smoking cigarettes and talking I was making the instructors show me things that were not on the curriculum. Also working in a salon after school allowed me to learn things that are also not taught in school. I had a unique situation during my first three months in school where you only get to work on maniquins initially. My instructor was out because of a health crisis and they brought in a salon owner that owned a black salon in five points. She taught me to work on textures and with tools that are still not taught in most cosmetology schools to this day.
I feel like I get to have multiple creative outlets between doing my guests in the salon and doing editorial and runway.
I have people seek me out for my skills working with all different textures of hair, for my color correction work and trying to keep my guests ahead of trends. (I will probably try and push you out of your comfort zone a little.) I enjoy doing any sort of editorial or runway. I love everything from pretty to edgy but definitely lean slightly more toward Avant Garde.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

When I started in my industry everyone that didn’t work at your salon was considered competition. That never sat well with me and I would often get spoken to for socializing with others on my industry. My industry friends and peers have gone out of our way to do collaborations and events with all different types of people and not be like those that came before us.
I would say that all of us realizing that others are not competition and that the attention they get does not detract from you would be a great start. Supporting each other just makes us all stronger.
Interacting with and sharing their Social Media is free. Attending events and shows. Financially remembering that you don’t barter at restaurants, retailers or most services and that artists and creatives deserve to be paid properly also.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

My career requires being super flexible and being able to pivot on a dime. Every time I think I know how something is going to turn out or have a specific expectation I get reminded.
A recent experience would be doing a photo shoot in Iceland in the winter. I thought I did all my research and planned everything out in my head. The brutal temperatures and high winds or the mist coming off the waterfall (in the sun zero temps) made me realize immediately I had to change every look I had planned for the whole trip. The wigs I had spent so many hours making didn’t survive the trek across the glacier to the ice caves where I then had to make it work just with what I had on me. I’ve always been aware change happens whether you want it to or not and if you are flexible it just makes it easier. I don’t always love it but know I can always pivot.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @darreldewitt
• Facebook: Darrel DeWitt

Image Credits

Randi Rheaa
Laura Okita
Tony Gallagher
Hardy Klahold
Syd
Chad Chisholm
Robert Grey
Katie Fletcher