Celebrity stylist and fashion designer Kyle De’Volle has drawn on his experiences growing up in care and his sexuality to take his projects further than just fashion. As well as styling the likes of Rita Ora, Bruno Mars, Andreja Pejić and Leigh-Ann from Little Mix, he’s the founder of LGBTQ+ project C.4.K.E.

Words Joseph Kocharian

Bobby wears turtleneck, by Margiela, blazer, by COS, coat, by The Kooples, trousers, by 3.1 Phillip Lim, belts, by Isabel Marant, belts, by Acne, gloves, by Prada, boots, by COS

Photography Gerda Carina

Tell us about the LGBTQ+ project that you run.

I have a platform called C.4.K.E, which stands for Courage 4 Kids & Equality, that focuses on supporting teens of the LGBTQ community. I ask them what their stories are - where they started, where they are now and what their journey was, and how they found themselves and what they were like when they were 15. I’ve found that everyone that I have spoken to has those [stories from] around that age, when people have been most affected. I found it hard to deal with [my] sexuality around that age. It makes us realise that we’re all in it together. The majority of the time it is a similar story.

When did you realise that you were ‘different’?

I always knew that there was something different about me compared to my friends and stuff, but sexuality-wise, there was a period when I did fancy girls. I had a girlfriend and I’d be like, oh, maybe I like women? But now, obviously, as a fully grown adult, I know that I am a homosexual, but I was always kind of out, if that makes sense? I’ve always done what I wanted to do, and I’ve never really suppressed myself. It was more in my adult life, in my early twenties, that I suppressed myself more than I ever did when I was a teenager.