Women athletes are getting their due, and Dominique “Domo” Wells is making sure they (and their fans) look good while they’re at it. As the founder of design studio Dead Dirt, she’s crafting merch for all National Women’s Soccer League clubs and creative directs the Washington Spirit.
What are you looking forward to this year?
We have a bunch of cool releases happening this year: One in a new sports league we haven’t been in before, the next NWSL all-teams release, and an independent release we teased at the studio opening. They live in different cultural intersections, so it’ll be fun to ideate the different creative for each rollout.
What do you think is your biggest contribution to culture?
Helping redefine women’s sports merchandise as a cultural and fashion-driven vehicle to storytell rather than a short- sighted fan product.
What’s one work of art that got you through an important moment in your life?
Art/Work by Heather Darcy Bhandari and Jonathan Melber. Specifically, chapter two about groundwork really helped me assess and pace how best to approach the work I’m doing now so that it aligns with my values, morals, and goals for my life. Despite this book’s target audience being fine/visual artists who aspire to be in galleries and live off their art, I feel like it offers useful information about creative systems/institutions that apply to most artists, designers, or creative professionals.
What question do you ask yourself most often while you’re making work?
Who is this serving other than myself?
What would you like the headline of your obituary to be?
“We Lost a Bad Bitch.”
What would you wear to meet your greatest enemy?
An Ottolinger mesh set with some Acne boots because let’s serve cunt with a lil stretch in case a fight breaks out.
What’s been the hardest part of your career so far?
Understanding what isn’t for me well enough to say no off rip.
When’s the last time you laughed hysterically?
When I watched Ilana Glazer’s human magic. No, bullshit. I laughed so loud on the plane, dude next to me had to tap my shoulder.
To read more from the 2026 CULT100 honorees, see the full list here.
in your life?
