In an interview I had with a Seattle-based photographer on success, he coined a term “max-ing out Seattle”; there is a lid on a container of creativity here, and when it boils over, it pours only into bigger cities, melting pots where creative steam can rise limitlessly. As a “Seattle transplant”, I felt somewhat absolved from this notion and passed it on more as an individual experience. Because quietly, in moving here, I was most drawn to the city’s grasp on style and more humble approach to creativity.

As I was flipping through past editions of Muse, I realized how young of a publication we are. In only our sixth year, and my fourth in it, no year had looked the same as the last. A witness to the people and passion rooted here, reimagining Seattle’s fashion story wasn’t so much a matter of writing a new chapter, but moreover offering a reflection. I rolled up my sleeves where there were fragmented pieces determined to make some mosaic of stained glass. And in the process, Muse became a mirror.

In our spring 2024 magazine, Muse invites you to look through our Issue 06: TASTE. From the act of living well, to hitting play on our favorite artists, and to the clothes we step out with, style is our own window to see our choices through. It’s decisive, but it’s also fluid. It’s up close, and it’s person-al. When trends are temporary, taste grows with us.

Seattle, as much as the next place, has a touchstone on culture because of how our environment feeds our creative in the comfort of our own backyard. Gratitude for those wholly owned experiences drives a conversation forward, and if the process begins with knowing oneself, I endeavor Muse much as any reader here to really lean into this. Empowered by our sense of self, having a finger on the pulse requires no calculation when we can relish in the reassurance that our next move, project, or idea can be the precipice to something great.

To subscribe to a trend is one thing, but to deeply know your likes and dislikes, to have an opinion and use your story to create something new this is what taste is to me. But more importantly, what does it mean to you? Read on, expand your palate, refine your taste.