Superstitions abound, but some designers are more superstitious than others.
Christian Dior never took a decision without consulting his fortune teller. Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel relied so much on her lucky number, five, that she used it to create the most famous perfume of all time. Elsa Schiaparelli had an attraction to astrology and the occult. Gianfranco Ferré never included a look number 17 in his collections. Superstitions abound, but some designers are more superstitious than others. Illustration by Miguel Canhoto.

To this day little is known about her - despite her becoming something of a "legend" in the fashion world - not even her first name. What is known is that she played a key role in the personal and professional life of Christian Dior, who depended on her and her guidance at every moment of his blazing career at the head of his eponymous label. The French designer was 13 when he first visited a fortune teller, who told him his destiny: "You will suffer poverty. But women are lucky for you, and through them you will achieve success. You will make a great deal of money out of them, and you will have to travel widely." The impact of this revelation was such that, until his last breath - which would turn out to be early and perhaps a macabre twist of fate, but we'll get to that in a moment - the designer was unable to make decisions without consulting the opinion of "soothsayers," namely Madame Delahaye, who would become a daily presence in the Dior salons. It was she who convinced him to accept the contract from textile magnate Marcel Boussac, who allowed him to fulfill his desire to found his Haute Couture house, it was she who chose the most appropriate dates to show his collections, it was she who suggested the ideal time to change florists. "Without her, he would do nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing," recalled years later Pierre Cardin, who crossed paths with Delahaye more than once in the ateliers of Dior, where he was then working. In October 1957, monsieur decided to ignore the clairvoyant's warnings for the first time. An act that would prove fatal.
She advised him not to take a trip to the famous spa of Montecatini, in Italy, and that's where he would end up dying, victim of a heart attack. Christian Dior was only 52 years old, but his legacy remains eternal and unchanging. Just like his long list of superstitions, which has become well-known - and a source of inspiration, with several collections where which Maria Grazia Chiuri, current creative director of the maison, explores the universe of astrology and its multiple symbolisms. Let's start with the basics: Dior was founded in the eighth arrondissement of Paris, on October 8, in an eight-story building. Its first collection, later known as New Look, was initially called Eight. Curiously, 13, seen around the world as a bringer of bad luck, was another of the designer's lucky numbers: normally, 13 models participated in his fashion shows. It is said that, to attract good energies, Christian Dior used to carry in his pocket a locket wrapped with a dried flower, a metal star that he stumbled upon one night in 1946, seeing it as a sign to launch his brand, a heart, and a number of other lucky charms. The lily of the valley, considered a lucky charm in France since the 17th century, was his favorite flower, so he liked to embroider a bunch on the hem of each dress of his runway models. Similarly, it is said, he based his first perfume, Miss Dior, on its sweet scent, which he used to spray the halls before the shows. The "antics" of the renowned designer are still present in Dior's daily life: the star that crowns the brand's building in Ginza (Tokyo), is similar to the one we see illustrated on the soles of all its shoes, a wink to the good luck wishes that the creator always longed for.
Yves Saint Laurent had the habit of visiting fortune tellers and strongly believed that his dog, Moujik, possessed special powers. If the bulldog sat on any garment, it was a sign that it would be a best seller. Known for his sarcasm and sharpness, Karl Lagerfeld was not indifferent to the world of the occult and astrology. He recounted in a 2015 interview an episode from his youth that turned out to be prescient: "It's unbelievable, I don't know how it happened - it's so strange, this fame thing. But as my fortune teller told me when I was young, she said, 'For you, it will effectively start when it's finished for the others.' It's very true." Gianfranco Ferré shunned the number 17, a superstition common to many Italians, so he never included a 17 look in his collections - he preferred instead to present a sui generis 16a. Alessandro Michele, fresh out of Gucci and an avid practitioner of chaos magic, a concept dating back to the 1970s, presented the Italian brand with a refreshing vision of fashion and, if you will, with a kind of "enchanted world of kitsch" where anything was possible. During his time as creative director of the maison, he introduced a dreamy concept, unusual in an industry that seeks profit at all costs. In 2018, he transformed Tippi Hedren, forever known as the star of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, into a psychic (or spiritual advisor, as the neon lights suggested) for Gucci's jewelry and watch campaign. In the video, directed by Colin Dodgson, the 93-year-old actress appeared ultra-mysterious in front of a crystal ball, holding numerous rings and bracelets, and warned two young customers: "All of your dreams will come true.”
Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen, the twins behind the circumspect The Row, may even pander to the whims of tarot and the new age scene, but the discretion that permeates every nook and cranny of their lives will never allow us to know to what extent that is true. However, guests at their fall/winter 2018 show were gifted with black tourmaline and white quartz crystals that promised to "repel and block negative energies" and "balance the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual planes," recounted the Italian issue of Vogue in 2021. That same issue reported the affair between Riccardo Tisci and the number 17 (as opposed to Ferré and his countrymen), which guided his entire tenure at Burberry: his debut show began at 17 o’clock on September 17, and after that, on the 17th of each month, the brand launched limited edition capsule collections. Years earlier, at Givenchy, Tisci created a series of graphic t-shirts decorated with the number 17. Bad luck for some, good luck for others? In the Paris ateliers, there are superstitions that are centuries old. A piece of tulle should never be hung from the ceiling, as it anticipates bad things, such as death. Dropping pins is also a bad omen. And if some breeders take these signs with a certain casualness, others let them condition every nook and cranny of their lives.
In the fall of 1938, Elsa Schiaparelli presented the Zodiac Collection, a collection inspired by the solar system and astronomy, which included a night-blue velvet jacket. Embroidered with sequins, crystals and gold threads, it had printed the 12 signs of the zodiac, several planets, comets and the constellation Big Dipper, considered her lucky symbol - Elsa's uncle, Giovanni Schiaparelli, was an astronomer, and thought that the signs on his niece's left cheek were the same as this constellation, reads in Shocking Life, the Italian designer's autobiography. The coat became one of her most famous pieces, and in 2013 it was sold at Kerry Taylor Auctions for 154,000 euros. The eccentricity of the designer, who brought her pagan beliefs and her passion for the occult to the catwalk, has become immortal. In 2016, under the creative direction of Bertrand Guyon, the maison decided to make a re-edition (with many quotation marks, mind you) of this jacket - a first step on a path since then taken by his successor, Daniel Roseberry, who took the helm of the brand in 2019, and who has not shied away from more or less obvious references to this attraction to esotericism. The American has successfully tried to perpetuate Schiap's legacy, with pieces where it is possible to perceive a wink to the mysticism that inspired her creations: for this spring/summer, he reinvented the iconic skeleton dress, from 1938, in the form of a jacket with ribs; other unusual details, such as eyes, noses and padlocks, are equally present throughout the collection, showing that these symbols, usually associated with magic, are still present in the maison.
Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel, Elsa Schiaparelli's great rival, was equally superstitious. "Her designs can be read not only in terms of inspiration, but as superstition. She believed in the influence of the constellations and chose lion motifs for the decoration of her own home," reads the official website of the brand she created in 1910. "The zodiac, in particular Leo, her birth sign [fifth sign of the zodiac], constantly shaped her creative vision," Chanel explains on its official website. Camellias were another of Mademoiselle's charms. One of the known reasons for this devotion was their absence of smell - thus not interfering with the scent of the Nº5 -, and the fact that they have protective powers (Buddhists used them as a way to ward off evil spirits). The Nº5, like the 2.55 wallet, which would appear years later, was, in fact, the consummation of all the superstitions of the French creator. As we told in the article Eternally Nº5, the choice of the name of the most famous perfume ever had a reason: the sample in which it was found had the number five, her lucky number, which served to normalize all Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel's decisions. And so, not at random, an icon was created.
Continuing our tour of the occult, we stop in 2017, when Alber Elbaz launched a fragrance with Frederic Malle. It was called Superstitious and symbolized "the scent of a dress," according to reports of what the couturier reportedly asked the famous perfumer. Was the name a random choice? "We are both superstitious and believe that the irrational part of the world should prevail a little more," Frédéric Malle admitted to the Financial Times newspaper. "It was almost like a little secret project," confessed Elbaz, who has since passed away. "It was so different from anything I've done before, where you have an important meeting, and then an even more important meeting, and then a super-important meeting. This was more of a [sort of] chemistry, more of an alchemy really, between two people, two ideas, two worlds that came together and became one."More than a common fear, the fear of bad luck, the spirit of Superstitious brought together the refined elegance of the former creative director of Lanvin (who never handed anyone a pair of scissors, preferring instead to put them down on a table) with the sophistication of the man who founded Éditions de Parfum Frédéric Malle, a luxury fragrance brand, in 2000.
Superstitions are common to all walks of life - they are inherent to the human being - and fashion is no exception. Diane von Furstenberg, one of the most important American designers, is said to always put a few coins with a family connection inside her shoes before a row. Christian Lacroix had so many good luck charms that, according to him, he couldn't even keep them in his pockets. Three, and its multiples, were his lucky numbers, so he tried to have 36 or 63 looks in his collections - a "mania" followed by many of his peers. Still young, in the 1970s, he visited Madame Mallais, a very popular fortune teller at the time. It was she who told him that he would meet "a guy who will be very important in his life named Arnaud." Years later, Lacroix realized that the prophecy was right: she was referring to Bernard Arnault, the French mega-businessman, current president of LVMH, who picked him up from Patou and invested in him to open his eponymous brand in 1987. A meeting with the richest man in the world? Not bad for superstition number one.
Translated from the original on The Good Luck Issue, published March 2023.Full stories and credits on the print issue.
Most popular
.jpg)
Gracie Abrams em Lisboa: "Foi libertador ser um pouco mais 'barulhenta' nesta fase da minha vida"
13 Feb 2025

A Mango Selection apresenta a sua nova coleção: eis as escolhas de Vicky Montanari
12 Feb 2025

Relacionados
.jpg)

.jpg)
Gracie Abrams em Lisboa: "Foi libertador ser um pouco mais 'barulhenta' nesta fase da minha vida"
13 Feb 2025