Catwalking With The Muses

Walking With The Muses is a literal escapade into the intoxicating swirl of the 1970s fashion world, as told by a true BAP (Black American Princess).

The title is perfect as supermodel Pat Cleveland truly walks (or more so) struts and twirls side-by-side with her "muses" which are a colorful cavalry of creatives from the 1960s and 1970s. Halston, Karl Lagerfeld, Andy Warhol, Antonio Lopez, Stephen Burrows, Yves Saint Laurent, Diana Vreeland (and an extremely weird) Guy Bourdin are all ruminated on, as are legends and icons like Marian Anderson, Nina Simone, Salvador Dali, Diana Ross, and Liza Minelli. Also a peppering of paramours such as Muhammad Ali, Mick Jagger, and Warren Beatty (who's kinda an ass) are kissed, and lead to some juicy tells. And to round out the glittering world of Pat Cleveland, along for the ride are a who's who of top models of the time like Donna Jordan, Sterling St. James, Naomi Sims, Marisa Berenson, Grace Jones and Jerry Hall.

Oh yeah, this book is deliciously gossipy and drops names like cookie dough batter on a baking tray, with Pat being that personable and glamorous griot, delivering a vibrant oral history that is nothing short of fun.

As a fan of this era, and the 1970s fashion culture in general, I was enthralled reading about Pat's adventures in couture paradise. From spiritual awakenings during her flower child days, sojourns in Europe and Africa, pre-gentrified New York City in all of its 1970s era grit and artistic gusto, near-death experiences (Pat clearly has nine lives...), to even an UFO sighting (!), Pat pours an effervescent cocktail of stories and keeps the libations flowing. Still her grandest adventure is being the daughter of artist Ladybird Cleveland, and their relationship, while marred by the exit of her musician father and Pat being passed off to some less than supportive relatives for a short spell, is a beautiful meditation on the mother-daughter bond, and the intimacy that it so entails.


What's also enjoyable here is how Pat lets you into an era when the fashion industry was becoming more brand and name recognized, with the term "supermodel" on the tip of the tongue and designers becoming household names as their creativity became more boundless than before. Pat doesn't just talk about sweating it out on the dancefloors of Studio 54 or the perfecting her signature strut down the catwalk, she gives you a taste of what it's like to be a model, the pavement that gets pound, the constant rejection, the long tedious hours, all the go-sees that turn out to be fronts for sinister activity, there is more to it than just posing for a picture in some exotic locale. It is work, and work that Pat is proud to partake in, no matter the roadblocks that do get placed in her way.

Photographed by Antonio Lopez

Often modeling is seen as a vapid profession, something that doesn't contribute much in society, Pat acknowledges this, but she's so jovial about how fashion reaches the masses in order to court the spark of imagination, that her love is contagious, where you begin to see fashion is something to cherish, not deride. In today's fast fashion world, where styles are disposed left and right, corporate greed is all-time gross high, and selfie culture breeding an even more look-conscious society, to read about the dedication of designers and models to create movable art, to create moments that shaped an era, does leave a bittersweet taste on what we've lost, co-opted, and cheapened in decades since.

Photographed by Antonio Lopez

To give this memoir a fresher angle as compared to other tomes and coffee table spreads about supermodels is that Pat was also one of the first Black American models to break out in this progressive era, so we're treated to a lot of little stories about how the Black fashion industry came to fruition in the 1960s and 1970s with Ebony's Fashion Fair showcase, and the upstart of Essence magazine. Such creations prompted a bumper crop of Black talent to be seen and heard in areas of photography, fashion design, makeup artistry, and journalism, bucking the idea that to be in such a profession you have to be 'light, bright, and all the way white'. I especially applaud her for pulling back the glitter curtain and not shying away from pointing out the fashion industry's racism and perversion, which sadly, there was a lot of that too.

Muses does kind of wane towards the end, the writing lacking punch, the adventures slowing down, and an ending that is so abrupt that it feels rude, but I guess that was Pat’s intention --- to wake you up out of the dream.

But what a dream to encounter...

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from the margins

• Rating: ****
• 352 pages
• Published June 14th 2016 by Atria/37 Ink

• Yes, I have a Pinterest board dedicated to Pat Cleveland cause let's be real the woman could slay an editorial page. I particularly like her work with the late great Antonio Lopez, esp. his "water series" that also featured Jerry Hall and Grace Jones in curious aquatic poses. 

• Carrying on the traditions of her mother, Pat has recently come into her own as a painter, as profiled in an 2017 interview for AnOther.