Devon Lee Carlson Gets the Dara Treatment

The model and entrepreneur steps into the frame—and kitchen—with Interview’s fashion director.

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FRIDAY 4:24 PM DEC. 13, 2024 LA

DARA: Okay. We just finished your photo shoot. 

DEVON LEE CARLSON: Dara’s first photo shoot! 

DARA: Yeah. I photographed you with my phone and it was fun.

CARLSON: It was great.

DARA: We were in the kitchen the whole time. We cooked. [Laughs] Wait, delete that. What were you going to say?

CARLSON: Put women back in the kitchen. [Laughs]

DARA: Nooo! [Laughs] Let’s move on to the questions Taylore wrote. Clearly we shouldn’t be allowed to speak.

CARLSON: Taylore, do not put that in. [Laughs]

DARA: Okay. First question, what was life like growing up in L.A.?

CARLSON: I loved it. I went to the beach a lot and I loved going to Disneyland and Universal Studios.

DARA: Oh my god, yes. What’s your favorite ride at Disneyland?

CARLSON: Space Mountain.

DARA: Good choice.

CARLSON: But honestly, if we’re going to talk, California Adventure, I love the Cars ride.

DARA: It’s so good. Oh, this is a fun segue into the next question. Where did you go first when you got your driver’s license?

CARLSON: Well, I drove myself to school. I was really scared to drive on the freeway and my parents were pretty strict on not letting me drive.

DARA: You weren’t going on joy rides? 

CARLSON: No. My next door neighbor went to the same school as me and I could not drive her. She was my best friend.

DARA: No carpool.

CARLSON: No. But I loved going to get coffee before school.

DARA: [Laughs] So fierce. I love giving Frappuccino in first period. 

CARLSON: Oh yeah. I wanted to be an adult so bad, so I was living the fantasy of, “Got to go to school, got to get my coffee.” 

DARA: What’s the best restaurant in L.A.?

CARLSON: Casa Vega.

DARA: Period. Is that the Christmas— 

CARLSON: The Mexican restaurant. 

DARA: Okay, I’m making a reservation. Where do you like to party? 

CARLSON: Umm. Not in L.A. [Laughs] 

DARA: What’s the best city to party in? 

CARLSON: I just like going where people are having fun and I love a spontaneous night.

DARA: I hate this question actually. I can never answer either, and people always expect me to know somewhere to party, and I’m like—

CARLSON: No. There’s nowhere that you can go and it will be fun. It just happens.

DARA: You hitch a ride on whoever is— 

CARLSON: Yes. I don’t think there’s a place where you’re like, “I’m going to go here because I want to have a night.” You have to decide with your friends collectively that no matter where we are, we’re having a night.

DARA: Yeah. Studio 54 is a dream of the past. It’s not real.

CARLSON: Not in my world.

DARA: What’s your guilty pleasure? 

CARLSON: I like Hallmark Christmas movies.

DARA: Work.

CARLSON: I also love sitcoms. I love Psych. I have a lot of guilty pleasures that maybe I don’t feel so guilty about. [Laughs]

DARA: Who’s your best friend? 

CARLSON: Oh my god, they’re going to be mad. I’m like—

DARA: “You’re all my best friends.” 

CARLSON: Everyone. [Laughs] 

DARA: You give that.

CARLSON: No, but I have 10 people that are collectively—

DARA: Same.

CARLSON: Best friends. And I know there has to be one best friend, but I’m like—

DARA: Ten best friends is great. 

CARLSON: Yeah. I literally have 10 that I’ve known for 10-plus years, and also my sister is included in that, and my boyfriend.

DARA: I feel like if you picked your sister or your boyfriend, that’s your “get out of jail free.” No one’s going to feel bad.

CARLSON: If I said my boyfriend, which is probably my real answer, my sister would be like, “Really?” But then I met my sister’s boyfriend and I said to him, “Oh, my sister’s my best friend. Does she tell you that I’m her best friend?” And he’s like, “No.” I was like, “Sydney…”

DARA: Oh my god.

CARLSON: She’s like, “You actually say I’m your best friend?” I’m like, “Who do I talk to the second I wake up?”

DARA: That’s your best friend. 

CARLSON: “Besides my boyfriend who’s lying next to me, it’s you.” 

DARA: Damn. I wish it was mutual for you.

CARLSON: Whatever. [Laughs] 

DARA: Do you and your sister ever fight?

CARLSON: We used to fight a lot over clothes.

DARA: Work.

CARLSON: Now we don’t really fight. We have a business together. We don’t have time.

DARA: Smart. Where do you shop IRL?

CARLSON: Like, vintage stores. 

DARA: Do you have a favorite or you’re not blowing it up?

CARLSON: I’m not that picky. I just like a challenge, so sometimes I go to places that aren’t that good.

DARA: You want the hunt. 

CARLSON: Yeah. But I’ve been going to some flea markets recently and I feel like the vintage world right now is a little intense.

DARA: It’s competitive.

 

CARLSON: And expensive and sometimes it’s just trash.

DARA: Have you gotten anything good lately?

CARLSON: I shop on The RealReal, if I’m going to be real.

DARA: Same. I just bought a bunch of Comme des Garçons. I was like, I think I need weird blob clothes. 

CARLSON: It’s the best price. I just bought a pair of vintage Gucci shoes and this Moschino puffer that’s red with red heart buttons. It was like 30 bucks.

DARA: Stop. Are you a Pinterest girly? 

CARLSON: Yeah. I love Tumblr. I love Pinterest.

DARA: Period. I never got on Pinterest, but I’m deeply Tumblr. 

CARLSON: I didn’t either until someone sent me a Pinterest board and then I realized that the algorithm is pretty amazing.

DARA: Okay. Maybe I need to seek that out.

CARLSON: They always feed you stuff you want. Like, if I type in Angelina Jolie hair, I’ll find exactly—

DARA: The right photo. Yeah, I need to download the app. How do you prep before walking a runway?

CARLSON: The one that I’ve walked? [Laughs] I called my friend Dean who casts models for runways, and he gave me a really good pep talk. Then I did the face mask and that’s it.

DARA: What advice did you get? 

CARLSON: He said, “Don’t think about it. Just be normal.”

DARA: Great advice. Tips for working out nerves before a shoot? Were you nervous today?

CARLSON: [Laughs] I don’t really get nervous. I just get excited.

DARA: I feel like I was more nervous than you were. [Laughs]

CARLSON: Yeah. What are your tips? 

DARA: Just be it.

CARLSON: The only way through it is— 

DARA: Through it. Yeah. What’s your workout routine? 

CARLSON: Ask my trainer.

DARA: This is so People magazine. [Laughs] What’s going to be trending in 2025?

CARLSON: Lingerie!

DARA: Period. Lingerie and suits. 

CARLSON: Suits on the mind.

DARA: [Laughs] Are you worried about the TikTok ban?

CARLSON: I haven’t looked into it. 

DARA: I honestly didn’t really know what was happening.

CARLSON: Ignorance is bliss.

DARA: I hope it doesn’t happen, I guess.

CARLSON: I have a lot of fun and yeah—

DARA: I’ll find somewhere else to post.

CARLSON: I can get down with Reels. 

DARA: Reels are really unhinged. They kind of terrify me. 

CARLSON: Another crazy algorithm.

DARA: Totally. I don’t know what it thinks about me, but I don’t like it. 

CARLSON: No, it’s so embarrassing.

DARA: What is your dream day off like?

CARLSON: Sleeping in, but naturally waking up before 9.

DARA: Oh, beautiful.

CARLSON: No alarms, the sun is out. I make my celery juice and then take my dogs out and then go to the beach and then come back and sauna and cold plunge and then—

DARA: [Laughs] Oh my god, I love your day.

CARLSON: Go to dinner with my boyfriend, have a glass of wine and then we meet up with our friends at someone’s house. Then we talk and then more people show up and then we have a great night and then my boyfriend’s like, “Let’s go home.” And I’m like, “Yes.” And then we go to bed.

DARA: That’s a nice day.

CARLSON: Yeah.

DARA: How many pets do you have? 

CARLSON: I have two perfect dogs. 

DARA: And what are your dog’s names?

CARLSON: Daisy Lynn and Martin. 

DARA: I love Daisy Lynn. It’s such a good name for a dog. Who is your favorite designer right now? 

CARLSON: Who do I want to wear? 

DARA: Sure.

CARLSON: I don’t know. I feel really good when I wear Saint Laurent, but I also love Alessandro [Michele]. 

DARA: Did you have a favorite outfit today?

CARLSON: Fuck, I kind of liked all of them.

DARA: Yay.

CARLSON: The Miu Miu one.

DARA: That one was really cute. Like a nursing scrub with a panty. Layered. Okay, what are you listening to?

CARLSON: Clairo. Her new album is the only thing I want to listen to, ever.

DARA: What are you embarrassed by? 

CARLSON: Everything. [Laughs] 

DARA: Really?

CARLSON: Growing up I had extreme embarrassment.

DARA: Wow. I wouldn’t think that. 

CARLSON: I was so shy. And then—I’ve said this so many times over the years—but I became friends with this girl, Nina. She was so herself and it made me feel like, “Wow, you’re awesome. I just want to embrace myself how you embrace yourself.” So then she kind of inspired me to not be shy and be less embarrassed. I’m really clumsy, so I guess—

DARA: I’m really clumsy too. I fall everywhere in front of people.

CARLSON: Fall, trip.

DARA: It’s bad. I can’t control these limbs.

CARLSON: I would not trust me with most stuff. [Laughs]

DARA: Yeah, no. What do you cook? 

CARLSON: Eggs.

DARA: Eggs? [Laughs] How do you do eggs?

CARLSON: Right now I’m on a soft scramble vibe.

DARA: Okay. Love.

CARLSON: That’s about it.

DARA: What do you eat when you’re hungover? 

CARLSON: Taco Bell.

DARA: Hell yeah. I love Taco Bell. 

CARLSON: It’s the only cure. What’s your order?

DARA: I like a chicken chalupa. 

CARLSON: Oh my god. Yum.

DARA: And then the spicy potato soft taco is fab too.

CARLSON: So good. And the Cheesy Gordita Crunch.

DARA: Are you like a Baja Blast diva? 

CARLSON: No. But I am a cinnamon— 

DARA: Cinnamon twist. The texture is unlike anything else.

CARLSON: It’s like styrofoam. 

DARA: Yeah. It’s such a weird thing. Okay, what is your relationship like with your parents?

CARLSON: We’re really close.

DARA: Cute.

CARLSON: I talk to them nonstop. But we also run a business together. 

DARA: How are they as business partners?

CARLSON: Very trustworthy. 

DARA: What would you say is each person’s spiritual role in the dynamic?

CARLSON: My dad is definitely the numbers guy. My mom is the heart, the sweetness, and the love.

DARA: The passion.

CARLSON: The passion. Me and Sydney are more like the creatives. My mom is really creative too. She’s really crafty. Me, my mom, and Sydney work the closest together. I’m more like my dad and my sister is more like my mom, business-wise.

DARA: A good balance.

CARLSON: Me and my sister usually always agree. Except we had a billboard recently and me and my dad wanted it to be one thing and my sister was like, “Absolutely not.”

DARA: Who won?

CARLSON: My sister. She usually wins. Double Aries. We’re scared of her. [Laughs]

DARA: What’s the last thing you regret buying?

CARLSON: Umm. I can’t think of anything. I buy a lot and I wear it once and then I donate it. Which sucks, personally.

DARA: That’s real.

 

 

CARLSON: Oh, I got my boyfriend something for Christmas that I literally was going to wrap and I was like, “Why did I buy this? He doesn’t want this at all.” I’m kind of embarrassed to give it to him.

 

DARA: Can you reveal it?

CARLSON: It’s a Lakers warm-up jacket. He loves the Lakers.

DARA: I don’t think that’s a bad gift. 

CARLSON: But I also got him a rare Kobe Bryant collector’s clock. And then I got him a Knecht 4, who’s one of the rookies on the Lakers this year. They don’t make his jerseys, so I got him a custom jersey.

DARA: Do you want kids? 

CARLSON: Yeah.

DARA: How many?

CARLSON: Two or three. The amount that will fit in a car easily.

DARA: [Laughs] You don’t want a van. I love that. Who makes you feel special?

CARLSON: My boyfriend. [Laughs] 

DARA: Ok, last question. What are your goals for the future? 

CARLSON: To stay really healthy this next year because I feel like I got sick literally once a month this year. 

DARA: Me too. I feel like I’m about to get sick.

CARLSON: Yeah. Every day I’m like, “I think I’m sick,” but I don’t like to say it because then I feel like it manifests, so I just hold it in.

DARA: So health for the future? 

CARLSON: Yeah. Health for all. 

DARA: Work. Okay. That’s all the questions.

CARLSON: Yay. We did it.

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Hair: Hikaru using Kérastase at Frank Reps. 

Makeup: Ciara Maccaro using Dior Beauty at Exclusive Artists.

Nails: Riley Miranda using Opi at Home Agency. 

Photography Assistant: Iris Diane Palma. 

Fashion Assistant: Sage Mckee. 

Production Management: Cecilia Alvarez Blackwell. 

Post-Production: Camerin Stoldt.