Givenchy and Hepburn, Saint Laurent and de la Falaise... the relationship between designer and muse has been integral to fashion history. Our favorite contemporary designers and their influences are no exception. This season, we asked designers to photograph the people, places, or objects that inspired their Fall/Winter 2012 collections. From batmobiles in Paris to the best skate spots in Moscow, they did not disappoint. Check out what else they came up with in our new series, "UNDER THE INFLUENCE."
Ah, what we would give to be 19 again—and even half as cool as Sofia, the little sister of Marta Marques of Marques’Almeida. Learn how the 19-year-old university student inspires Marta and her co-designer, Paulo, below.
Who is your muse?
Paulo: Marta's younger sister, Sofia.
Describe the first time you met:
Marta: When she was born!
Paulo: When I started going to Marta's house to hang out she was always there. She was 12 or 13 at the time and she was a fun child.
How does Sofia influence you? She's a classic teenager: moody, grumpy, secretive, and fun. She’s completely unrelated to fashion so everything she does with us is very, very authentic, which is amazing—she's a breath of fresh air! Our brand is all about this real side of things: the girl, the mood, and the attitude. Sofia is the perfect representation of this realness and authenticity. The way she carries herself and the way she as a young teenager, despising everything around her, is really authentically cool!
What’s the relationship between designer and muse? We are all pretty much family so there are no boundaries and we can do whatever we want. We have so much fun together!
Does your inspiration change from season to season? This search for a youth code of dressing, the obsession with teenagers, and the late 90s to the early 00s are always present.
Have you and Sofia ever worked collaboratively? Sofia was our lookbook and fit model while we were studying our BA in Portugal and we would bring things back to her in Portugal to fit while we were doing our MA at Central Saint Martins in London.
What is your favorite thing to do together? Watch TV
Does she have a secret talent? When she's not destroying the kitchen she cooks really well :) She stayed with us in London over the summer and she would go food shopping at the markets and cooked the most amazing, healthy meals!
Do you have any secret talents?
Marta: Paulo can whistle like the birds on the Snow White soundtrack. He sounds identical!
Paulo: I think Marta doesn't really have a secret talent, maybe because she's terrible at keeping secrets!
Where did you shoot these photos?
Marta: We had so much fun doing this shoot. Sofia had just moved to a new place with her friends and it was the first time we got to see the flat. I shot it and Paulo styled the outfits so it was just the three of us being silly. Her friend joined us later for a few pictures, which was really fun too! It's really cool seeing her grow and get her own place with her friends. It brought back a lot of memories for us.
In another life, my muse was: the same person.![]()
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Ah, what we would give to be 19 again—and even half as cool as Sofia, the little sister of Marta Marques of Marques’Almeida. Learn how the 19-year-old university student inspires Marta and her co-designer, Paulo, below.
Who is your muse?
Paulo: Marta's younger sister, Sofia.
Describe the first time you met:
Marta: When she was born!
Paulo: When I started going to Marta's house to hang out she was always there. She was 12 or 13 at the time and she was a fun child.
How does Sofia influence you? She's a classic teenager: moody, grumpy, secretive, and fun. She’s completely unrelated to fashion so everything she does with us is very, very authentic, which is amazing—she's a breath of fresh air! Our brand is all about this real side of things: the girl, the mood, and the attitude. Sofia is the perfect representation of this realness and authenticity. The way she carries herself and the way she as a young teenager, despising everything around her, is really authentically cool!
What’s the relationship between designer and muse? We are all pretty much family so there are no boundaries and we can do whatever we want. We have so much fun together!
Does your inspiration change from season to season? This search for a youth code of dressing, the obsession with teenagers, and the late 90s to the early 00s are always present.
Have you and Sofia ever worked collaboratively? Sofia was our lookbook and fit model while we were studying our BA in Portugal and we would bring things back to her in Portugal to fit while we were doing our MA at Central Saint Martins in London.
What is your favorite thing to do together? Watch TV
Does she have a secret talent? When she's not destroying the kitchen she cooks really well :) She stayed with us in London over the summer and she would go food shopping at the markets and cooked the most amazing, healthy meals!
Do you have any secret talents?
Marta: Paulo can whistle like the birds on the Snow White soundtrack. He sounds identical!
Paulo: I think Marta doesn't really have a secret talent, maybe because she's terrible at keeping secrets!
Where did you shoot these photos?
Marta: We had so much fun doing this shoot. Sofia had just moved to a new place with her friends and it was the first time we got to see the flat. I shot it and Paulo styled the outfits so it was just the three of us being silly. Her friend joined us later for a few pictures, which was really fun too! It's really cool seeing her grow and get her own place with her friends. It brought back a lot of memories for us.
In another life, my muse was: the same person.
