Dina Wilkins

Living the Dream

It began in the year 2000. Leopard print was having a major fashion moment, and 13 year old me was all about it. I wanted leopard print everything- clothes, shoes, furry phones, inflatable couches, binders, you name it. Then one day, I had an epiphany. I thought, “why do people wear fur against the outside of their skin, not against the inside, where it feels nice?” Sounds like the musings of a zany 13 year old now, but at the time, it awoke something deep inside me. That night, I designed my first article of clothing: a reversible leopard-zebra print jacket.