We live in a world that seems increasingly fragile, slipping towards its inexorable doom (remember the problem isn’t just corona – climate change, refugee crises and political tension are all around us), and so the deep-seated spiritual need for a higher power capable of keeping everything together is more than reasonable. In fact, it’s a very human reflex, particularly in light of the fact that religion has lost its allure in many parts of the world. Seeking to foresee future events, and attempting to make the best of the current situation for oneself and one’s own small world, does offer a certain kind of comfort and consolation.
Which takes us to Co-Star, the astrology app where you enter your birth details with the date, time and place, and then receive spirit messages that are calculated by an algorithm fed by NASA data and polished by creative writers. “Have you looked in the mirror today and asked yourself who’s the boss?” Sassy, Insta-ready quotes like these are very popular with the younger, empowered and assertive generations such as millennials or Gen. Z. In the United States, around 15 per cent of women aged 20 – 24 use Co-Star, not least because the app can also analyse how compatible friends and (potential) partners are.
Does that sound a little bit too much like a self-fulfilling prophecy? You should never be too superstitious, but at the same time, you should never stop believing. And, ultimately, that is the fundamental message of the latest Dior show. Shortly after the video presentation of the couture collection, creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri revealed in an interview that even the founder of the exclusive house, Monsieur Christian Dior himself, had a passion for tarot cards. “He discovered them in the Second World War, when his sister Catherine, who was part of the French Resistance, disappeared”, she said. “I think he was so scared about her situation that he probably went to the tarot cards to try to know some more, to hope that she would come back. I think he was very worried; trying to find hope in some signs.”
