In pondering the role of the muse I thought I might jump back a post or two to Basso & Brooke. Their print work walks a fine line between art and fashion and got me to wondering who a brand like that might have as a muse. My guess would have been a relatively zany character, someone who was pretty out there styling wise and all in all, a seriously strong individual with an equally strong sense of personal style. And so who did I find but the wonderfully wacky Namalee Bolle.
If you've had a look at my post on Basso & Brooke (http://designbrainbucket.blogspot.com/2010/04/while-were-on-print.html) you're probably already joining the dots. Namalee is a direct reflection of the energy, colour and individualism that the Basso & Brooke label represents and provides the duo with a truck load of exciting inspiration to pour directly into their design work. She sings, she runs a magazine ('Super Super' in case you're interested http://www.myspace.com/thesupersuper), models and generally spends time helping to style and inspire the Basso & Brooke collections. Although it's difficult to find information on exactly how any particular brand works with their muse I think Namalee's personal style definitely seeps through into the Basso & Brooke collections and her wonderfully thrown together mis-matchy styling has rubbed off on the team as she now styles for their shoots and catwalks. The following pics are of Namalee with Basso & Brooke and one of the looks that she has styled for the catwalk. The hat, the necklace, the dress and the general 'maxi-maximalism' that Namalee describes her style as being plays a huge part in the overall spectacle of the label.
all images at http://www.myspace.com/namalee
Yes, they even went so far as to incorporating her face into one of their prints. In this partnership it's the connection of the vivacity between designer, muse and brand identity that cements the relationship and really helps to build up a design direction. Namalee is perfectly suited to Basso & Brooke and vice versa and the energy that comes from the team is amazing. If you want to see some real Namalee style fun check out No.7 of her YouTube published series 'Relentless Optimism', 'Because We're Worth It'. In this little number she makes an interesting comment about perceived beauty while the rest of the series touch on a whole bundle of fashion related issues. Good to see a muse questioning some elements of the fashion industry and perhaps this is part of the appeal of the Namalee package?
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