Artist and fashion designer Polet Guzman is on a mission to design pieces that empower women by giving them the opportunity to express themselves through wearable art with her brand, MUZA . She believes that all women should feel sexy and beautiful no matter the size so she started the blog series In bed with, a series of candid pictures and interviews of the women that inspire her. We sat down with Polet to talk about her career, her style and what inspires her.
Describe your brand in a few words
It is wearable art that was created to empower women from all walks of life.
Where are you from?
La Isla del Encanto–Puerto Rico and currently based in Brooklyn, New York.
How did you begin your career in fashion?
I unconsciously joined the fashion world. I originally made streetwear and clothing for young women on the move. My mom is a fashion designer so I grew up watching her create clothing but I was never interested in learning the craft of making clothing. I have always been a creative so I went to study at la Escuela de Artes Plásticas Viejo San Juan for a degree in Painting. While in school I started experimenting with my art in different mediums and so began designing fashion unaware of what I was doing; for me, it was just another form of expression. As time passed I figured out how to make my art accessible to people. I figured out that we need clothing more than we need a painting on a wall. My art becomes something that you can touch, manipulate and travel with. And that’s how I fell in love with fashion, and that’s how it became my career.
What has been one of your proudest moments with your brand so far?
Owning and managing my boutique in New York. Being chosen to sell in Nylon Magazine’s online store at the end of 2016.
Where do you go to find inspiration?
Travelling, experiencing new cultures, historical and contemporary figures, and the library.
Who are your fashion icons?
Frida Kahlo and Edie Sedgwick
What is your signature look?
My big hair and red lipstick.
What wardrobe pieces make you feel the most comfortable and confident?
High waisted pants, some type of boot and my oversized Amethyst ring.
What is your life motto?
Get off your ass. Nothing happens without you making the first action. I don’t fantasize, I dream big.
What advice would you give to other women seeking a career in the fashion industry?
I would say that if you have the desire to walk your own path it will always be more difficult than those paths that are already defined. Follow your dreams. If you are ever unhappy, make a change, reinvent yourself. All of these things take guts.
What is your morning routine?
Drinking coffee and sitting at the window.
What is the last book you read?
The Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. It’s about the revolutionary Mirabal Sisters from the Dominican Republic who fought against the Trujillo dictatorship from the 1930-1961.
Do you or have you had a mentor?
Elizam Escobar, he was one of my painting professors in School of Art in Old San Juan. He is an ex-political prisoner who spent 19 years in prison for his political activism and currently one of the most celebrated established artists in Puerto Rico.
My mom has also been a solid force of love and inspiration. Thanks to her I began to sew in the first place.
If you could have dinner with anyone who would it be and why?
This is a difficult one, there are so many people that have impacted, influenced and inspired my life. It will be a pleasure to have dinner with, La Lupe, Frida Kahlo and Chavela Vargas, Julia de Burgos, Madonna, El Che and Eduardo Galeano, I would cook dinner for all of them, with some wine of course, we would have the most wonderful conversations about sex, love, freedom and revolution; it would be fantastic!
