Wayward Women

I have a strange fascination - possibly even an obsession - with crazy, wild or insane women in films.  I'm not really sure exactly what it is that draws me to these characters but there is something in their sexuality, vulnerability,  passion and their confrontational personalities that keeps me searching for more of these characters.  I've slowly built my muse around this wild picture of a woman who is threateningly assertive, irrational, emotional, occasionally deranged, and excitingly sexualised.

I'm sure that she will come up a few times throughout this blog especially as I start getting into the designing of my collection so I thought that I might introduce her to you now.  While the following two are not the only examples of my muse they are certainly strong representations of the woman that influences my work.  She's some wild mix of Maria-Elena (Penelope Cruz in Woody Allen's 'Vicky Christina Barcelona'), Betty (Beatrice Dalle in Jean Jacques Beineix's 'Betty Blue') as well as all the thousands of representations of irrational, crazy and deconstructed women that appear within the works of the Surrealists - something which I'm sure I'll no doubt come to.  For now however let me introduce you to Maria-Elena and Betty...

Penelope Cruz as Maria-Elena - image at http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/N2MGr69d8E2/Vicky+Cristina+Barcelona+Movie+Stills/-Zma0rlbU7T/Penelope+Cruz

Video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39PuFOTjtk8

Beatrice Dalle (Betty Blue) - image at http://www.gala.fr/var/gal/storage/images/les_stars/leurs_bio/dalle_beatrice/images/beatrice_dalle/312387-1-fre-FR/beatrice_dalle_reference.jpg

Video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YydulEgsTOE

Introducing ..... Namalee Bolle

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? 

But Where Does it All Come From?

Finding myself in a bit of a design rut this morning I took to flicking through some old magazines and came across an interesting article in Oyster that got me thinking about how the designers and artists of the world stay inspired.  It's not always an easy thing to be inspired.  Sometimes it comes naturally and at other times you have search really hard for it, often feeling less inspired than when you began.  So from what do all the magical, inspired and unbelievable fashion shows come?  How do photographers and artists continually find new ways to express themselves when they feel that perhaps there is simply nothing left to express?

The article was titled 'Fashion Freaks Make the World Go Round' (Oyster Australia issue 57) and gave a quick run down of the quirky personalities of some well known fashion profiles who have come to be known in part due to their eccentricity and fearless attitude to fashion. Featuring avant-garde style queens, Anna Piaggi and Isabella Blow, influential fashion faces, Andre Leon Talley and Karl Lagerfeld, as well as Amanda LePore - the muse of artist David LaChapelle - this article featured the weird and the wonderful of the creative worlds.  The idea of the 'muse' in art and fashion has always played a major role in informing creative works and providing impetus for new ideas as well as a source of personal inspiration for the artist or designer.  The muse provides an open source from which designers can freely borrow, share and find inspiration without having to rely solely on their own experiences and emotions.

The relationship of a muse to a designer is an interesting connection of trust, inspiration and influence.  While designers cannot borrow style and ideas from other designers, the muse can help to form these facets of a label or a collection in a sharing of creative direction and intellectual property.  A free flow of information and interests between a designer and their muse results in the clear development of a brand identity.  The result, is that we get consistency.  The direction of a brand feeds from the label's muse and dissipates into who the brand is designed for.  Before Paris, Milan and New York fashion weeks begin we already know which shows we desperately need to see shots from.  We can rely that our favourite label from the last few seasons will still provide a collection for us to swoon over and it's this 'brand identity' that makes us continually keep coming back for more.  Which is exactly what keeps fashion ticking over and is exactly why the next few posts will look at the weird and wonderful muses which have influenced some of the most well known designers.