Wendell's woman Malaika Arora Khan

Narendra Kumar’s man John Abraham

Tarun Tahiliani’s muse Mehr Jessia Rampal with husband Arjun Rampal

According to Greek mythology, the muses are the nine goddesses who inspire drama, poetry and music.... To the Indian fashion designer, however, a muse is a far more earthly creature — she can be anyone from a campaign face to celebrity showstopper to a party buddy. The muse is thus reduced to a fancy word with a fancy ring to it, all the while meaning someone, most likely, who wears your designs on and off the ramp!

But to be a real muse, the actual wearing is only the end result; this is simply not enough to earn such lofty laurels. For instance, Shilpa Shetty is not the muse of Tarun Tahiliani. Mehr Jessia Rampal is. A muse is someone who should be on your mind from the early days, when the moodboard is born pencilstroke by pencilstroke. A muse is someone who should be part of the collection right through the creation process, and not just the puppet you send up the catwalk to close your show. And usually, a muse is one part of a partnership that is ongoing and doesn’t come with a use-by date.

The ongoing exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is dedicated to the model as muse. And the choice of theme is not without reason. At a time when actresses have usurped the place of models as muses and are stealing away a staggering number of magazine covers, this may have been the Met’s attempt to buck the trend.

In India too, there is a trend — like apples and oranges, muses come and go with the season. A muse can be adopted or discarded in less than half a calendar year, depending on the requirements of the collection.

But there are a handful of desi designers who have a cherished and celebrated relationship with their muses — model or not.

Let’s take Tahiliani again, with his two serious muses Minal Modi and Mehr Jessia Rampal. Or Manish Malhotra and Kareena Kapoor.

“A muse is someone who not only reflects my sensibility but also helps inspire me. My muse lives it through her life, for her it is not about public consumption. Overall, my muse helps me push the envelope further. She gives me ideas, she gives me imagination,” Tarun told t2 from Delhi.

Another designer-model collaboration that has grown into a beautiful bond is Wendell Rodricks-Malaika Arora Khan. Their association goes back years. Malaika is seen on and off walking the ramp for the Goan design guru and their relationship has extended beyond Malaika herself to sister Amrita Arora and hubby Arbaaz Khan (who recently walked the Lakme Fashion Week runway for him).

Wendell muses: “Malaika will always be my muse. She has gone from model to bride to wife and mother with such ease and style that she is a style icon. Women like her make a designer realise that there is a person who one can build clothes around at any age. She will be a style icon at 70 or more… like Gayatri Devi or Shobhaa De.”

Narendra Kumar also has three men who take turns inspiring him — the very dishy John Abraham and models Aquin and Asif. He says: “They are my muses because of the way they carry clothes. They each have an individual style that works for me. They are the kind of men we design for.”

Many young designers still treat their muse as the face of their brand, not someone who channels and gives shape to their style ideology. Again, the association can be fleeting.

Delhi-based designers Shantanu and Nikhil Mehra are perfect examples. “Deepika Padukone was our muse one time and another time it was Tinu Verghese. At the moment for our campaign, we are looking for a jawline like Keira Knightley. As a young brand, we don’t want to be stuck with a muse. The concept of a lifelong muse hardly exists in India where the majority are young labels.”

And looking beyond model or non-model muses, GeNext designer Kallol Datta says: “I mull and muse over inanimate objects. Concepts and objects that are alien to me, I get attracted to them like moth to a flame, I start obsessing over them and finally crown them my muse. The global, confident Indian woman jazz is just not for me.”

PS: Maybe it is not the designer but the absence of supermodels in India that is the reason behind the rare case of model turning muse. Enter, Bollywood star.

The men are well known for their muses but ever wondered who inspires the ladies? We asked to find out…

Anamika Khanna: “Madonna — it’s the way she re-invents herself, be it physically or her thought process. From Material Girl to now, how she has reinvented herself is amazing, powerful and iconic. For me, it’s her!”

Rina Dhaka: “Of late I have not identified with anyone enough to be my muse. Closest comes the dummy or mannequin! Sometimes I think I am my muse but neither am I model size or real size since I am too short and too thin to be either!”

Kiran Uttam Ghosh: “Sunaina Vahi (Mumbai-based doctor) is my muse. The chemistry between her and my clothes is mutual, she gets my collection as soon as it is off the ramp! My other very visible model-muse is Nina Manuel (picture below). I love dusky women and there’s a sensuality and understated sexiness about Nina that appeals.”

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This year, the theme for Costume Institute Gala Benefit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York was The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion. Co-chaired by British supermodel Kate Moss, the gala on May 6 invited the fash frat — all the designers and the marvellous models — dressed as “goddesses”. On till August 9, the exhibit focuses on “iconic models of the 20th century and their roles in projecting, and sometimes inspiring, the fashion of their respective eras”. Videos, editorials, photographs and garments, spanning five decades from 1947, brought to life the mesmerising models and their roles as muses

THE DESIGNERS ARRIVED WITH THEIR MODEL/MUSES. HERE’S A LOOK AT SOME HEADTURNERS...

Designer Gilles Mendel and supermodel Heidi Klum	Designer Donatella Versace and supermodel Cindy Crawford	French actress Marion Cotillard with designer John Galliano
Supermodel Tyra Banks arrives with designers Mark Badgley (right) and James Mischka (left)	Designer Zac Posen and model Helena Christensen	Designer Isaac Mizrahi and model Coco Rocha
Actress Kate Hudson, designer Stella McCartney and actresses Liv Tyler and Kate Bosworth