Jack Zhao

Muse Streetwear by Jack Zhao

A skater replaces his old skateboarding helmet for a hard-hat. He rides down cement pavement that’s not fully finished revealing a construction site. He begins to use it as a canvas for his various tricks and rocks a royal blue hoodie which matches a few colors on the site. The hoodie, belonging to a streetwear brand called “muse,” depicts bold coloring, heavy construction icon placement, and loud typeface. When observed more closely, one could see the heavy influences from designers such as Virgil Abloh, Daniel Patrick, and John Eliot. Muse is a practice which indirectly relates back to my own identity. Meaning to meditate or to have deep thoughts on a subject, the lightbulb figure surrounding the "e" in muse metaphorically represents comprehensions, breakthroughs, and awareness- all practices in which the term and myself advocate. The brand tries to break the norms of regular design and therefore promotes a more disruptive one. In short, this method, or "the disruptive design method," is utilized by going into the foundations or intents of certain interventions and getting a systematic understanding of what’s being depicted. An individual is therefore able to disrupt the status quo of an issue and create an effective change in society. One example is the skater in the beginning of the passage wearing muse clothing. He’s provoking a disruptive action by utilizing the hard hat in a different way other than its original purpose and also skating in a construction site. Disruptive actions, such as this, are unique (but also important) in our current climate, 2021, and beyond.