Diane Linston is the only African American woman to own a clothing manufacturing company in Cleveland, which produces anywhere from 20,000 to 50,000 pieces for emerging designers in the region. It complements her fabric store and her boutique, Styles of Imagination, located in Downtown Bedford. All facilities support her ever-growing clothing collection, Never Give Up, whose name runs deeper than its cliche.
“I always knew that I wanted to be a fashion designer at the age of 15,” Linston says. “Growing up, my mom dressed my sister and I, so I contributed my mother to me being a fashionista. And my dad, he could draw, so I know I got that from him.” Both influences fueled her post-secondary education at Virginia Marti College of Art and Design (now The North Coast College).
“After I graduated, I opened up a little boutique in Maple Heights. … You could barely have 10 people in there,” Linston adds. “I would always show people my fashions, and they would say, ‘Never give up.’”
She took that advice to heart, freshening the scene with Never Give Up’s signature “bling denim,” plus unique dresses, pant sets and jackets embellished with colors, patterns, frills and studs. Her closet staples are fancy enough for a night out, yet just the right amount of casual for stylish streetwear.
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She always had momentum, even when a brain surgery in 2011 attempted to halt it. The procedure would treat Trigeminal Neuralgia, a rare condition nicknamed “the suicide disease” due to unbearable nerve pain in the face that causes a higher risk of depression and suicidal ideation. It makes it nearly impossible to chew, brush your teeth, apply makeup and talk. She returned to her business just four months after surgery.
“‘If you give me another chance, I'm gonna make the best of it,’” Linston recalls praying. “And I have not stopped since. When you’re blessed, whether it be fashion or any type of thing as an artist, it's just your calling.”
Over the following years, her calling has stunned the runways at New York Fashion Week, Harlem Fashion Week and an NBA All-Star Weekend fashion show — plus features in magazines, books and newscasts.
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Hospital gowns, blouses and bras for women undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer are Never Give Up’s most recent addition that’s turning heads. The garment line attests to Linston’s continued contributions to community well-being.
“I love to help people. I work with people with breast cancer, lupus, foster homes … and I volunteer my time and my fashion — just helping out wherever we can,” Linston says. Through monetary and clothing donations, her efforts have benefitted local organizations like My Sister’s Keeper, as well as Cleveland-area elementary schools and foster care facilities.
“There was a little girl that went to school; she had a hole in her sock, and the kids was teasing her,” she recalls. “We did a sock drive, and we got almost 200 pairs of socks to distribute.”
Continuing to follow her philanthropic passion, she earned an honorary humanities degree in 2022 from Global International Alliance University in Atlanta, among the likes of singers Cee Lo Green and T.I. in her graduating class. Through this program, she also received a Lifetime Achievement Award signed by former President Joe Biden.
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But for Linston, it’s not about the awards and recognition. Fashion isn’t about trends. It’s about the art and community that it welcomes and the outlet that it provides. That creative mission has helped her truly never give up.
“God placed me to help other people,” she says. “It makes you feel good. You're doing something right.”
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