Model: Muse or Mirror of Vanity?

I open a fashion magazine and I get stuck on the ads looking at the stunning Chanel-Alice Dellal connubial. Punk allure, edgy classicism, inelegant fascination, all of this is shouted by the glossy page. There is much beauty in this image, but is the something more that makes it stunning. Alice Dellal is an unconventional beauty, and more than that, she is the embodiment of the Chanel’s campaign. She is more than a model, she is a muse.

I would like to reflect on the word muse, starting from the origins, in ancient Greece, where human beauty was born and chiselled in marble. The muses were the goddesses of arts and science, the sources of knowledge, which was then considered in high esteem and not a rare alternative to everyday life lobotomy. Art was precious and inspiration was so rare and sublime it was deemed divine. When artists still had a role in society and were still able to produce priceless beauty, muses where the ones who granted them this role. Were they beautiful? Like all the Greek gods and heroes, they were. But that’s not why they were given divine honours.

Back to the future, today’s finest art is fashion, and the modern muse is the model… Is she? Some models are pretty bodies in a wonderful dress, pretty faces in fashion magazines, luxurious accessories for the rich and famous. They look the same, talk the same, think the same… Do they do that at all? It’s the 21^st century, baby, objects matter more than people, clothes matter more than models. Art is not divine anymore, everybody thinks he’s an artist and anything beautiful, nice or ugly is inspiring. Do we still need muses?

Yes, we do. Among all those flesh and blood ghosts on the catwalks, there still walks the Greek type muse. She inspires the designer, or the designers, enhances the garments, instead of merely wearing them; she is the one for whom they are especially made. In a world where fashion is more conceptual than wearable,(and sometimes even not wearable) piece of art more than accessory, it is difficult to forget the primary and most simple reason behind the industry of glitters and stilettos: women. And some of them are more than beautiful, they can even make an ugly dress look pretty, to paraphrase the muse Kate Moss.

At the beginning it was Audrey Hepburn with Givenchy, and she was so inspiring that Audrey style and Givenchy style were the same thing. Of course Givenchy made gorgeous things, but they looked even more gorgeous on his muse. And certainly Audrey was more than a “sunny funny face”. Can we say the same about today’s models?

The answer again is on glossy paper, and especially Dolce&Gabbana ad for the lipstick Monica, inspired by Monica Bellucci. The Italian model and actress, proud of her curves, not afraid of aging and dedicated mother, is THE muse. With a sensual voice that could betray a divine origin, she makes unconventional choices and doesn’t compromise with society’s and Hollywood’s un-ethics. She is the ultimate icon in Dolce&Gabbana’s S/S 2012 campaign, displaying traditional, archetypical and stereotypical Italy. And what says Bella Italia more than Monica Bellucci? Not Madonna for sure.