Fashion & Models: The Cosmic Connection

As fashion has changed its perspective and evolved through the 20th century, so have the models who have both presented and inspired these styles. But was it blind luck that certain models became icons at certain times, or was there a cosmic connection?

From an astrological perspective, there have been some very strong trends—and overlaps—in the fashion and modeling industries that can help us decipher why certain models were hot when they were and who will be the next be thing.

There are several ways to break down the 12 zodiac signs. One way is to divide them into the four elements (fire, earth, air, water); another is to divide them into the three qualities (cardinal, fixed, mutable). Looking at the three qualities, though, is where some strong patterns emerge.

The cardinal signs are Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn, and they are concerned with initiation, movement, momentum, activity, and new breakthroughs. Fixed signs Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius are people who have a very strong, consistent “fixed” sense of self and let very little change their direction. Mutable signs are the final group, made up of Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces, and they are the most changeable, interested with incorporating and integrating what is happening around them.

A cursory glance over the history of fashion shows that for most of the 20th century fixed signs reigned supreme! Modern fashion, especially in it’s earliest incarnations, celebrated designers who had a very clear, consistent perspective and style like fixed designers Leo Coco Chanel, Leo Yves Saint Laurent, Aquarius Christian Dior, Taurus Halston, Aquarius Cristobal Balenciaga, and others. It would make sense, then, that the first models to become very famous were also members of the fixed signs. These models include Taureans Lisa Fonnasgrives, Dorian Leigh, and Veruschka; Aquarians Christie Brinkley, Cheryl Tiegs, Janice Dickinson, and Gia Carangi; Scorpios Lauren Hutton and Jean Shrimpton; and Leos Iman and Inès de la Fressange.

By the 1990s, fashion had become more adventurous and fast-paced, about movement, momentum, innovation—just like the cardinal signs. Cardinal sign designers like Aries Marc Jacobs, Libra Ralph Lauren, Cancer Oscar de la Renta, Libra Donna Karan, and Capricorn Olivier Theyskens took over. So the cardinal models also became the biggest models during that time as well. Famous cardinal faces of the time include Capricorns Christy Turlington, Angela Lindvall, and Liya Kebede; Arians Elle Macpherson, Paulina Porizkova, and Tatjana Patitz; and it has been Capricorn Kate Moss and Cancer Gisele Bündchen who have taken the two übermodel titles of the recent era.

As for the famous mutable sign models, they are very adaptable and thus they have taken their modeling career into interesting entrepreneurial directions, integrating modeling in a larger way. Pisceans Cindy Crawford, Kathy Ireland, and Niki Taylor; Gemini Heidi Klum; and Sagittarius Tyra Banks have become extremely successful at business and branding, expanding the modeling industry to a larger audience. In the 1990s, the “original supermodel” dream team of Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, and Christy Turlington included three mutable sign models (Virgo Claudia, Pisces Cindy, and Gemini Naomi) and it was indeed this group that culturally propelled modeling into a sphere equivalent with famous musicians and entertainers.

With Scorpios Daria Werbowy and Gemma Ward; Taureans Lily Cole and Jessica Stam; and Aquarians Doutzen Kroes, Erin Wasson, Lily Donaldson, and Agyness Deyn most popular today, it appears that fixed-sign fashion—and models—are on top once again!