Alexis Devine: Creating Armor for Those Who Dream of Vulnerability
4 Min. Read | Story By A.M.
Alexis Devine is the Founder and Creative Director of Squirrel Vs. Coyote—a fashion and accessories label based in Tacoma. Alexis is a true creative force whose brand of custom and ready-to-wear pieces give voice to the voiceless, often with affirmations and tongue-in-cheek messages hand-stamped into reclaimed brass.
“I’ve always been an artist. And I’ve always been competitive. I think my competitive nature led me to become easily frustrated when I couldn’t be the best at what I was doing. So I was always looking for an outlet that was a bit more unusual.”
While much of her early career was devoted to fine dining as a sake sommelier, it was a chance reaction from a friend that redirected her to her passion, which she then reforged into the pursuit of wearable art.
“I started dabbling in chainmail and made a piece for a friend of mine that was going to Burning Man. And people sort of freaked out over it—This is amazing! and, You should make more stuff like this! I thought, Okay, I guess I’ll try more things like this. And it sort of grew into making armor as fashion with things that can make you feel safe and strong and help you become the best version of yourself. I think there’s something in all of us that would really want to be able to be as vulnerable as possible.”
Squirrel Vs. Coyote is comprised of two lines. The Squirrel line reflects ready-to-wear daywear and accessories. The Coyote line reflects bespoke fashion. Both are responsibly sourced from reclaimed materials where available, including recycled aluminum and dead- stock acrylics. And both effortlessly weave together typically disparate stylistic threads that bend only to the will of a truly confident creator. Her influences range from medieval armories and baroque masterpieces, to existentialism, shibari, and postmodernity.
“It’s a material and a medium that you don’t see in contemporary fashion at all. And that intrigued me. And learning how to work with it and bring it out of a LARP setting and into a contemporary and future-fashion aesthetic was really interesting to me. And because there wasn’t—and still isn’t—a lot of competition, it allowed me to gain ground and really stand out.”
Images of Coyote line of bespoke wear courtesy Isaac Ruiz.
One of the most compelling aspects of vulnerability is how it brings people together. When one wears something that immediately calls us to attention to itself, it creates a statement that sparks magnetism between like-minded journeyers. And in that sense, each accessory transcends apparel and becomes an invitation.
“A local Tacoma woman reached out to me whose grandfather had passed. He was a World War II veteran and he used to sing Ave María to her when she was a baby. She had a bullet casing that he had fired during the war, and she said she’d really love to do something to memorialize his passing. So she gave me the bullet casing and the song, and said, I don’t know if that sparks any ideas? And I said, I got you. So I made her a Literary Bodice with the lyrics to Ave María hand-stamped on it, and then created a necklace with the bullet casing attached to a finding on top so that she could wear it with the chain. And I hand-stamped, very delicately, her grandfather’s name, birthdate, and passing date on the casing. It was so special for me to be able to do that, and was very powerful for her too. And these are the types of moments that I live for.”
On the national scene, Squirrel Vs. Coyote once again graced New York Fashion Week during the Spring/Summer 2020 runway season, appearing with Seattle brands TomboyX and Devonation at the sixth annual DapperQ Fashion Show held at Brooklyn Museum. From there, they could be seen at shows around the world.
Though the allure of international acclaim calls to every fashion professional, Alexis retains a decidedly Northwest perspective on her business activities for the foreseeable future.
“Most important for me now is making positive connections with my community. To me, it’s less important to push my business aggressively in different directions than it is to work with other artists and make beautiful connections and create beautiful things. That’s such an important part of what I’m doing.”
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