The Motivating Force of Inspiration

"Nothing comes from nothing – nothing ever could.

But somewhere in my youth or childhood I must have done something good."

Yes, all my fellow The Sound of Music fans know where these words come from, but let's clarify for the rest of you that these lines are from a beautiful song called Something Good, written by Richard Rogers for the original version of the Broadway musical The Sound of Music.

Obviously those lines can be interpreted in many ways, but for the purpose of this article, I'd like to think about them from the point of view of the importance of inspiration.

 "Nothing comes from nothing – nothing ever could.

 This line speaks of the truth that nothing is new under the sun – humans just cannot create anything truly from scratch. Something can feel new to us in a specific moment in time, but in the end, anything that we think of as "creative" is always an interesting combination of many sources of inspiration.

"Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things." – Steve Jobs

The fact that things can't be created starting from nothing may sound like a bad thing, but actually it's far from it! Even though we can't come up with anything completely novel, we still take immense pleasure in making interesting connections that feel relevant in the present moment.

Inspiration is everything.

At least I'm the type of person that craves the feeling of being inspired and putting those bits and pieces of inspiration to use. What's interesting, though, is that more often than not I notice that many of my sources of inspiration have been present in my life already since my childhood or my teenage years. I guess they literally are the formative years also in terms of the types of things we become inspired about. 

If you're like me that you've been in the privileged position of being able to feed that craving of inspiration during your formative years, you know what I'm talking about. It's just marvelous to be able to lead with your natural curiosity in life, and all of a sudden you may notice that the things you were inspired about when you were younger all come together in some way a bit later in life.

That's how I feel right now. All my ideas on the concept of elegance seem to be slowly coming together, and at the same time I realize that in a way I've been interested in elegance from quite a young age, but only now is it more concrete. 

"But somewhere in my youth or childhood I must have done something good."

I guess I must have done something good when I was a bit younger (I do realize that I'm only 25 years old currently😂). I guess I wanted to bathe in the influence of anything that I was drawn to – anything that my parents showed me or that I was exposed to in any context. And all that bathing helps me to come up with something good now, years and years later.

Let's not forget the word "good" here, though. As a counteraction to perfectionism, all of us overachievers must remember that the point isn't to make something great, let alone perfect, but just something good. No one really is extraordinary, but we can win in life in so many ways just by being a good person, i.e. a kind person, and just by doing something well enough.

To sum this up, anything that leads to something good starts with inspiration. Being inspired doesn't mean copying or imitating something to the minute detail, but absorbing an idea, storing it in the back of your head, and using it in a novel way or in a different context. Most of all, inspiration can be a wonderful feeling or a state of mind that uplifts our mundane lives; that creates connection between people. What more could we ask for?

I hope you don't mind this slightly philosophical digression, but I had to write it out since the inspiration came to me! But what I'm trying to say is: here's me trying to connect with you. Here's my list of inspiring people whose influence helps me to nudge my life towards effortless elegance. The list is alphabetical, just for the sake of it being a fun way to organize such a list, but the list spans only the letters from A to N, because I couldn't come up with enough people for the rest of the letters. I'll have to wait for some more inspiration to complete my list one day...

What’s your list like?😃

A

Audrey Hepburn (1929–1993)
I was about 14 or 15 years old when I first saw Audrey's films. Then I read her biography, and she just made such a lasting impression on me. What a charming and intelligent human being!

Anne-Sophie Mutter (1963–)
In my opinion, she is THE violinist of our time. The more I hear her play, the more I find her sound unique and intriguing. When I saw her perform in Turku with her chamber ensemble Mutter's Virtuosi in August of 2023, I realized that although the music is the main element of the concert, it is mesmerizing to observe her charisma, elegance and performance practice on stage.

B

Barbra Streisand (1942–)
Barbra is definitely one of my greatest musical influences. I never get tired of hearing her sing, seeing her act or just looking at her face. I also value all the original and bold artistic choices she's made throughout her career. I believe that staying true to herself and trusting her gut has made her one of the best-selling artists in the world.

C

Coco Chanel (1883–1971)
Coco Chanel has left a very intriguing legacy in the world of fashion, to say the least. She’s undoubtedly a controversial character whose take on style is often associated with the idea of ’timelessness’, even though no clothing style can truly be timeless in the span of a long enough time. What I find relevant right now about her are her famous quips on the principles of (Parisian) style that I try to live by.

Carolina Herrera (1939–)
Carolina Herrera is my favourite fashion designer. I love the fresh and bright colors, as well as the dramatic shapes that are characteristic to her brand. I also have immense appreciation for the fact that she has succeeded in keeping her vision of elegance as the common thread of her brand in the commercial and fast-paced world of fashion.

Caterina Valente (1931–2024)
A master of so many fields, Caterina is my favourite musical virtuoso and polyglot. Her skills continue to amaze me and I find that her talent is truly unparalleled. Unfortunately her immense life's work seems to be left quite unknown for my generation and the generations after me.

D

Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997)
Diana was such an iconic personality and trendsetter. I'd like to learn how to encounter people with the same warmth and skill as she did.

Dean Martin (1917–1995)
We used to always listen to one of Dean's CDs in the car when I was small. Now I also understand what a fun personality he was and that his laid-back way of singing and phrasing makes his music so compelling.

E

Ella Fitzgerald (1917–1996)
Ella made me fell in love with jazz and The Great American Songbook when I'd listen to her songs during the bus rides to and from school in my teens. I love how her expression ranges from quick and complex scat patterns to intense, touching and pensive ballads — and to think she does it all with such ease!

Elvis (1935–1977)
We used to listen to a compilation of Elvis' biggest hits in the car in the summer when I was small. Only in the recent years have I realized the grandeur of his impact on music and youth culture.

Edith Head (1897–1981)
Her costume design work for Hollywood films is nothing short of legendary. I love the clear-cut and powerful femininity of her costumes that brought out the best in the leading ladies of Hollywood's golden era. I also find it fascinating that she built such a strong personal brand as a designer that it made her stand out in her field.

F

Fred Astaire (1899–1987)
I know Astaire's graceful style mostly from Funny Face (1957). More recently I also fell in love with the glamour and innocence of his films with Ginger Rogers. What a gift he was to the world of film and dance!

G

Grace Kelly (1929–1982)
I’m stunned by Grace's outfits in To Catch a Thief (1955) every time I watch the movie. And her wedding dress is the most beautiful wedding dress I know.

Gene Kelly (1912–1996)
What a captivating smile! It’s very fun to admire his athletic, but carefully nuanced way of dancing.

Gianni Agnelli (1921–2003)
Gianni Agnelli is the Italian industrialist and head of Fiat who mastered the art of wearing sartorial menswear with 'sprezzatura', an element of delicate ease and creativity. I love the combinations of soft, rough and relaxed fabrics and textures in his outfits. He is often named as the most elegant man in the world – and I have no objections to that!

H

Henry Mancini (1924–1994)
Mancini's compositions ooze elegance! I don’t know how he’s been able to bottle up the musical identity of the concept of elegance in them. Especially the use of the beguine rhythm, all of the rhythms of Hispanic heritage, and catchy melodies melt my heart and touch the deepest parts of my soul.

I

Inès de la Fressange (1957–)
Inès is truly a part of supermodel royalty. She was Karl Lagerfeld's muse and nowadays she spreads her message of a blue, red and white colored easy-going Parisian style through her own brand.

J

Julie Andrews (1935–)
Listening to Julie’s singing ignited my love for musicals. Her authentic, graceful and witty manner of speaking is one of a kind — and what a dancer, too!

Jackie Kennedy Onassis (1929–1994)
I find it intriguing how Jackie succeeded in emulating such European elegance as an American First Lady. I’m not sure what was the real point of her marriage to Aristotle Onassis, but I do think that she was a great vanguard of personal style and image-building (especially with her huge mosquito-like sunglasses).

K

Karl Lagerfeld (1933–2019)
Karl is an unforgettable personality and icon, whose interesting quotes always hit fashion's nail on the head.

L

Luciano Pavarotti (1935–2007)
Most of all, we listened to Pavarotti in the car when I was small. His charisma was so enchanting that it is not surprising that his career reached far beyond the confines of the world of opera.

Laila Kinnunen (1939–2000)
Laila is my favourite Finnish singer. She was a marvelous entertainer and a skilled professional singer who showed the Finnish music market of the 1950's and 60's a glimpse of the level of artistry that was done in a larger scale abroad.

M

Maria Callas (1923–1977)
Maria shines through as my greatest love of all of the singers and performers I know. Her unapologetic candor and her devotion to her art (as well as her winged eyeliners) inspire me tremendously.

Queen Máxima of the Netherlands (1971–)
Queen Máxima is an Argentinian polyglot whose smile lights up any room. Her ability to adapt in social situations and display similar warmth that Princess Diana had towards people makes her look as if she was born to be a queen. I'm always moved when I watch the clip from her wedding of when they played Adiós Nonino by Astor Piazzolla to her in the church.

Michael Bublé (1975–)
Bublé is an absolutely spectacular singer and performer. I appreciate especially that he wants to keep the tradition of crooners alive (as do I).

Michael Jackson (1958–2009)
The first time I remember that I became a fan of a singer, was when I became a fan of Michael when I was about 10–11 years old. The first ever song that I learned the English lyrics to was Man in the Mirror. I can still remember the moment when I stood next to my CD-player and tried to read the lyrics from the leaflet on the cover of the CD.

Monica Bellucci (1964–)
Monica is the most beautiful woman I know. Based on her interviews, she seems like a very pleasant and charming person as well. I would have liked to see her portrayal of Maria Callas' letters and memoirs (put together by director Tom Volf), which she performed all over the world.

Miranda Hart (1972–)
Miranda is my favourite comedienne. I still laugh out loud every time I watch her acclaimed sitcom Miranda even though I've seen it a million times. The message of her brand about having some child-like fun in the adult life is brilliant and influential in all it's wonderful crazyness.

N

Nina Garcia (1965–)
When I first read two of Nina's books in my teens, I thought that she must have read my mind and written down everything I had ever thought about style and the art of dressing up. Fun fact: I always clap and cheer when they introduce Nina as the judge in Project Runway.😆