SLUG Style: Felix Diaz

Felix Diaz is a fashion stylist, multimedia creative, model and community organizer deeply integrated into SLC’s flourishing underground, alternative fashion scene. They use their keen eye for unique aesthetics to curate looks like no other and bring local designers’ bold visions to life. Keep up with their endless groundbreaking looks on Instagram at @felixdiiaz and keep an eye out for their name at upcoming local fashion shows!

Every month, SLUG Style features a distinct member of the community and asks them why they do what they do. Exploring more than just clothing, SLUG Style is an attempt to feature the people who give Salt Lake City flavor through personality and panache.

What are your stylistic influences? This could be a band, decade, fictional character—anything.

I strongly believe art stands as one of the most emotionally powerful forms of activism, alongside fashion. As an art form, fashion has exemplified this countless times by pushing boundaries throughout its evolution. The individuals who curate a message in the lens of their art have devotedly gained my respect and admiration. A few of my biggest fashion inspirations are trailblazers like Vivienne Westwood and Virgil [Abloh], as well as queer artists, including many drag queens—Gottmik, Symone and Shea Coulee are world-renowned drag queens who have inspired so much of my creative drive and passion. A few bands that revolutionized my style and artistic perception are Deftones, Smashing Pumpkins and Alice in Chains. Mixing these against-the-grain influences in hand with my Hispanic heritage role models, such as Selena Quintanilla, Maná and Vicente Hernandez, transformed my taste into a wide spectrum of diverse genres and communities. Finding an opulent way to display and appreciate my cultures with a holistic approach whilst keeping my artistic visions alive has made my projects that much more special.

What are your interests or hobbies? What is the hobby or interest that you have that no one would realize to ask you about?

My soul resonates with anything that contains intimate and riskful moments, big and small. From small one-on-one moments to large gatherings, I am there front and center as long as there is another person to connect to (and good music). I love going out of my way to learn, read, spend time outside and put on a Freakum Dress or two with my go-go boots for a night out dancing with my girls, gays and theys at the Pink Pony Club.

What are your favorite essential pieces in your collection? These can be clothing or accessories!

My collection and wardrobe only feel complete with the proper over-the-top accessories. A handful of my favorites that give my outfits the true “oo-ah-ah” sensation would be my spiked choker, my long black lace robe, platform chunky shoes and my overall sense of sophisticated maximalism. Creating a shawl out of a shirt or sewing a hem in a loose scrap of fabric for a new scarf will forever be my favorite way to top off an already astounding outfit, making it an even more scrumptious, layered outfit.

It seems like you’re involved with a wide range of creatives here in SLC—how does connecting with artists in different mediums impact your own passions and expression?

What the beautiful Utah creatives have taught me is the blessing and love that is community. Learning what community truly means and having the opportunity to share intimate spaces for creating art has invoked the most special bonds. Seeing my friends such as Chloe Akir establish divine artistry and being a part of her creative vision while also sharing my own has only deepened my love for that girl. Alan (Pink Flores) introduced me to the [fashion] space by finding a Facebook model community post back in 2022 and going through with some creative shoots. Ever since then, he has become one of my close friends, alongside Chloe, and I am so thankful for the splendid connections I gained and the gorgeous community I get the honor of being a part of.

Do you explore varied gendered expression deliberately in your style, or does it come naturally with the types of fashion and aesthetics that you’re drawn to?

I’ve found so much bliss in approaching fashion and gender in a limitless way. Art has no deficit and neither do we. As free-hearted beings, it is within our right to step out of the binary for reasons no one besides yourself is entitled to. Reclamation of my own agency through gender-bending and gender non-conforming styles comes more than naturally, while simultaneously reaping some deliberate intent. As an individual with a more fluid approach to gender expression, these arcs of the ebb and flow of my expression are chances to shed positive exposure on either side of the pendulum—embracing each side with unconditional love while holding the same amount of love for the opposing gender expression. This open-arms approach to my gender journey in relation to my fashion expression has helped me create a vital foundation that allows me to completely set sail to explore whatever I feel that day, while letting me hold deeper value to who I am rather than what I am perceived as. 

Are you always “on” or would someone see you at the grocery store, for example, with less elements of your style? 

I am criminally and exponentially always “on.” You WILL be catching me in an entire garment and glammed head-to-toe for a quick drive-thru moment. 

If you had to describe yourself in three words, what would those be? 

Eclectic, silly and GAGGY.  

How has your personal style evolved over time? How has working as a model and a stylist influenced your personal style?

[It’s evolved by] learning the fundamentals of fashion by watching legendary fashion shows of the 1900s, doing research and intentionally making my fashion both a statement and an art piece. Modeling has helped me always be willing to step into a persona any day. From casual to editorial high fashion to streetwear, my bookings as a model will constantly vary and I absolutely adore that. Exploring all of these branches of my styles has truly helped me execute fully-realized concepts for my outfits in a way that has “Felix” written all over it, no matter the garment. 

Could you talk about your creative journey with makeup? How did that interest start and how have you developed your own distinct style of it? 

Makeup and a femme-presenting appearance was something I’ve always been enamored by since I was a gay little Mexican boy. I have so many pictures of me in wigs and my two older sisters’ dresses. My makeup skills spiked in progress and articulation once I heavily got into drag and learned more about the queer ballroom scene. 

If you could encapsulate yourself in three albums, what would they be?

To properly delegate these albums, I assigned each one one of the three modes of balance and factors for human consciousness: The Mind, The Body and The Soul.

The Mind: To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar

The Body: Magdalene by FKA Twigs

The Soul: Negro Swan by Blood Orange (aka Dev Hynes)

If you could give a piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?

Being queer will become the biggest doors to your happiness. Unapologetically accepting your truth will become your safe heaven and compass for your creative drive. Feel everything, hold back nothing. Cry, scream and—especially—laugh like you always do where friends can hear you from two halls down. Be where your feet are and be the queer Latine star the universe aligned for you to be.

Read more SLUG Style features:
Slug Style: Kennady Jensen
Slug Style: Emily Ard