What’s always fascinated me about M is not just that she’s Bond’s boss — it’s that she exists at the top of a structure built for men. That was radical when she first appeared. Even in a world of gadgets, guns, and glamorous chaos, she never needed theatrics. Her mind was her weapon. Her restraint was her control.

As head of MI6, she was tasked with anticipating attacks, geopolitical threats, the next storm before it broke. She wasn’t just responding to danger — she was already three steps ahead of it. Watching her, I remember thinking: That’s the kind of thinking I want to master.

Growing up as a girl, we’re rarely taught to think tactically. We’re given soft toys, told to be sweet, told that the world will make space for us. But power doesn’t work that way. And neither does survival — especially in a high-stakes world. M reminded me that intelligence isn’t just about being smart. It’s about being strategic. Predictive. Cool under pressure.

Over the years, I’ve come to understand my own work — as a designer, a business owner, a feminist — as a kind of strategy. A way of reading the future and moving toward it with purpose. I may not run an intelligence agency, but I’ve had to learn how to outthink systems, outmaneuver limitations, and build something that hadn’t existed before.

That’s why M resonates with me so deeply. She’s proof that you don’t need to raise your voice to raise the stakes. That you can lead with precision, with vision — and with a quiet kind of power that no one sees coming until it’s already in motion.

In the end, M doesn’t just represent authority. She represents mastery. And that’s the kind of muse I design for.

-XXX- Marlies