Muse Project

The muse, when it comes to men
By Robb Young
Published: January 18, 2008
LONDON: The muse has been the domain of men for centuries - not least because long stretches of art history were essentially the same story. Boy met girl; boy painted girl. And while using a muse may have become passé, whenever one does appear, it's almost always a man doing the musing over a woman.
Even today, under post-feminist scrutiny, few female artists devote their canvases, videos or sculptures to objectifying the ideal man. Nowhere was this more poignant than in Mary Gordon's 1998 novel, "Spending." "Where are all the male muses?" implores her main character, an artist named Monica.

• Fashion, too, has been dominated by men creating women's clothes, their myriad muses gracing countless photographs, catwalks and magazines since the advent of couture. But with a new generation of female designers who dedicate their brands exclusively to menswear, the classic muse relationship could soon get turned on its head.
• These women are, like it or not, wrestling with the idea of the male muse in every creative and marketing decision they make.
• "Yes, I have muses that I gather information from, but it's often far removed from fashionable London where I work," said Siv Stoldal, whose eponymous menswear label subverts traditional notions of dressing up and dressing down. "It can be somebody close to home, like my husband or father, or a neighbor of a friend in the Norwegian countryside. It could be a pensioner or even a random person on the bus."

• But once she has interpreted the research into her own designs, the role of the muse stops there. "I don't think of a specific person wearing the clothes when I begin making my own collection," she said.
• The process for most designers nowadays hinges on a whole host of references, rather than on a single muse. Still, some do begin by taking inspiration from a particular individual and that can sometimes carry over into an entire collection or as a thread of inspiration for several years.

• "I don't like the word muse because I think it sounds pretentious, but I have worked with one for three seasons - Johan Ohlserom. From the start, I've always used friends or a street casting for shoots and shows," said Carri Munden, whose vibrant menswear label Cassette Playa pays tribute to the many fringe and underground music subcultures in Britain.
• "Johan is definitely someone I think of when I design, and I use him for fittings as well as my shows and look-books. His own personal style is part gabba and part hip-hop so his look really works for my brand. He's tough, totally fearless, but 100 percent positive and calming. Now he wears Cassette Playa a lot, often head to toe," she said.
• There is also a very practical side to a having a muse, according to Carola Euler, a Berlin-based designer who seeks feedback from her regular fitting model.

• "Men will always tell you the truth because they're too scared of looking ridiculous and this fear is greater than politeness," Euler said. "That way I get a brilliant insight into who would wear my clothes, how far I can go and which things to completely avoid."
• Munden agreed, saying: "Women's wear can be a lot about the designer's fantasy. Men won't stand for that. They dress for themselves, not anyone else, and they want clothes, not a concept. So working with someone in mind keeps your ideas grounded in reality."
• The flip side to the muse argument is that female designers' anatomical and sexual disconnect from their male clients can sometimes produce unique and inventive results.
• "I think, as a woman, we might like to bring out different aspects or qualities of masculinity than a man, who himself grew up with certain social expectations," said the Austrian designer Ute Ploier.
• Although Ploier shies away from the notion of a muse who defines an entire collection because she finds the idea too restrictive, her current collection has been in part influenced by Taylor Fuchs, a model whom she prefers to call her "protagonist" of the season.

• Because most of these female designers are still reluctant to declare without reserve that they have discovered their muse, all this begs a few questions.
• As fashion, unlike art, requires a body for the work to function, is a man who acts as an adviser on the marketability or wear ability of clothes really a muse?
• Most models are little more than clotheshorses for any brand, women's or men's, but once in a while a Kate Moss or an Agyness Deyn does cross over into genuine muse territory. If a muse is both the fundamental inspiration to the creative process and the embodiment of a designer's brand image, can a male muse be much more than a figment of the designer's imagination or a fleeting face in an ad campaign?
• Woo Young Mi, for one, believes she has hit the jackpot in Kang Dong Won, the South Korean actor.
• "Naturally, it's very hard to meet one's muse in real life. I used to think my muse only lived as an ideal, but six years ago, fortunately, I found the muse who really matches everything that I have dreamed of," said Woo, a South Korean designer who shows during the Paris men's fashion week and who has since enticed the actor to walk for her shows there. "I don't like models that are too muscly, too sexy, tough or decadent.
• www.wooyoungmi.com
• "My muse is essential. He has honesty of mind and soul."

The Project
• http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/01/18/style/rmuse.php
• The first project for this semester is based on the MUSE, or the ideal person or group/s of people that inspire your design, it may or may not be a famous person, read the article and decide who your muse is, create an extensive visual profile of this person.
• From this profile design your ready to wear, men’s wear collection

The collection:
• 10 coordinated pieces
• to include woven and knit fabric
• minimum of 2 color ways
• summer 09
• 4 fully resolved 3D design pieces to be produced.
• Document your design and development process a Power point presentation to be submitted for assessment.

Schedule
• 01. 08/09 Project 1: the Muse +The Graduate Collection. Research and analyze your thoughts on who your muse is
• 02. 15/09 Muse Collection development and range planning, shapes, details, lines, colors, textures etc. Discussion of ideas for graduate collection Fabric and accessory research for muse Project and the Graduate Collection
• 03. 22/09 Finalize designs for Muse Project Preparation to present design for Muse project.
• 04. 29/09 Present final 2D Muse Project designs. Design Brief for graduate collection Complete Muse Project storyboard with Fabrics.
• 05. 06/10 Present Graduate Collection ideas + Theme.2D design Development of graduate collection
• 06. 13/10 Start 3D development for Muse Project2D design Development of graduate collection Produce PP presentation for Muse Project
• 07. 20/10 Continue 3D development for Muse Project2D design Development of graduate collection PP presentation for Muse Project
• 08. 2710 Complete 3D development for Muse Project2D design Development of graduate collection finalize PP presentation for Muse Project assessment
• 09. 03/11 Mid term exam week Muse project assessment 20 Designs minimum for Graduate collection
• 10. 10/11 Project 2: Antiquity Present the 20 designs with color and fabric samples. Further develop the graduate collection select the final 6.Research the Antiquity Project
• 11. 17/11 Present the final 6 Graduate collection designs for Preliminary collection critique Finalize your 2D designs
• 12. 24/11 3D development of the graduate collection
• 13. 01/12 Construction of final garment and 2 Prototype garments. Construction of final garment and 2 Prototype garments.
• 14. 08/12 Construction of final garment and 2 Prototype garments. Construction of final garment and 2 Prototype garments.
• 15. 15/12 Complete construction of final garment and 2 Prototype garments. Complete construction of final garment and 2 Prototype garments.
• 16. 22/12 First critique collection Boards + 2 prototype garments and one final garment.
• 17. 29/12 complete all work for assessment
• 18. 05/01 Final exam week

Design Brief for Graduate Collection
• Students are to prepare a design brief for there collection, to be submitted week 4 of the semester.