Okotoks is known for a lot of things; the home of great sporting teams, a nook for talented artists, a sound booth for musicians...and now a runway for fashion.

17-year-old Composite High School Student, Dylan Thompson, is putting our Foothills community on the map when it comes to the clothing world. 

Growing up with older siblings, Thompson says he found himself surrounded by style, piquing his interest from an early age. 

"When I was growing up, both my sisters are quite older than me. So whenever we would be on vacation, we would be always going into malls and stores and shopping with them or my dad would be shopping for them for Christmases or birthdays. So I've always been very ingrained in fashion from a very young age."

With influence from his sisters and always searching for the next best trend in fashion capitals around the world, a then seventh-grader came up with the idea of creating a fashion line, Thompson says, fast forward 6 years and d.RT was launched.

"So d.RT is an all men's clothing brand. And really, what we wanted to do with this brand was educate this next generation of young men coming into the marketplace here and who are going to be our next CEO's and our next Prime Ministers, Presidents, and all of this. We wanted a brand that would really target that young men market." 

But other than encouraging young men, aged 10 to 18, to confidently take on the world, what sets this brand apart? Thompson, Co-Founder of d.RT, answers; clothing with adjustability.

"Because kids grow so fast we didn't want somebody to buy one of our suits but then they grow out of it in four months and they have to buy another one. We wanted to be able to have it so the suit could grow with them and they can actually enjoy the clothes." 

The idea of adjustability came about as Dylan, a hockey player, would find himself having to buy a new suit each season but with d.RT you now have sleeves that can be lengthened by a pop of a stitch, pants that have an easy snap system to adjust, and waists that can be taken in and out - there's no need to visit the tailor while your child is going through a growth spurt. 

The young men's clothing brand ranges anywhere from $52-$200 and includes fabrics that are machine washable and wrinkle-resistant, which cuts the costs of dry cleaning as well. 

A brand that has truly considered everything and ticks all the boxes, Thompson says, it's been unreal to watch his brainchild become a reality.

"To be honest, it feels quite surreal. Sometimes it almost doesn't feel like it's reality. It almost kind of just feels like a fever dream... like we had this idea in Grade 7 and we started working on this. And it's all for the public eye to see, so it's just kind of a lot to get used."

To shop d.RT (also Co-founded by Dylan's sister Paula Brunson, and her husband, Brian Brunson) and to learn more about the brand click HERE.