Tarot Fashion

Micale's book

I first became interested in the Tarot in my teens. I love the different decks, some of them going back  to the 15th century  and now collector's items. The Tarot is of course much older than the 15th century but cards from these early times have not survived. I find the Tarot cards endlessly fascinating in their rich symbolism, which also intrigued Carl Jung.
I recently felt the urge of updating my Tarot deck and started looking around for a suitable replacement. I have owned a deck for many years, the now classic Rider-Wait Tarot but I feel it's time to get a new one. An artist friend I met in Sicily, back in April, Rocco Micale, is working on a new deck and I had a preview of some of his designs which he published in a small book of poems entitled "SpiRituale/Digitale. Miti, leggende, tarocchi". I will probably invest into one of his decks, when the whole project is completed, his Tarot designs definitely speak to me.
Tarot and fashion...that's an interesting pairing. Christian Dior was enthralled by the Tarot and had a great interest in everything linked with magic and the occult, from clairvoyance to numerology and palm reading. His lucky number was 8 and he always carried a talisman in his pocket. It all fuelled his creativity.

Six of Swords, Rider-Wait deck
 In my research of all things "taroty" I came across some brilliant blogposts about the Tarot/fashion connection.   Jess Carlson for example  discusses embodying the energy of the Arcana in the way we dress, whereas the lovely Vix has a whole blog called the Numinous dedicated to Tarot and style and a post on Tarot on the catwalk that I absolutely loved.
There are also t-shirts  with motifs from the major and minor Arcana. As blogger Elana Pruitt writes "Fashion is meant to make you think and Tarot cards are meant to make you think, and they both carry a similar weight of sensitivity. Not to mention, fashion allows you to show your connection with Tarot card mysticism by incorporating certain pieces into your outfit". It is up to the individual how explicitly make the connection.
Have you ever picked a Tarot card before going clothes shopping? It can be quite amusing. You do not have to follow it literally eg find something that  directly reflects the card design, but you can reflect on the energy symbolised by the card and see how that translates into colour and/or patterns or shapes and then buy your clothes. Et le voila' you're bound to pick up something that in your mind has a link with the card, even though it may not be immediately apparent.

Creative director: Florencia Martinez. Photo by Alexis Negrin. Model: me Montage by SR Models

The Tarot has inspired artists for centuries. Artists have designed exquisite Tarot cards, interpreting anew the ageless symbolism. However, Alejandro Jodorowsky, film maker and artist, connoisseur of Tarot decks and also an adept at the art of interpreting the Tarot as a spiritual source, has it from the master of surrealism André Breton, whom he met in the 1960s  that the only acceptable Tarot for divination is the Marseille deck. Jodorowsky  has helped design one, as he was always frustrated at not being able to find the perfect Tarot of Marseille, as he told the New York Times in 2011.
I am not sure about this. I love the variety of Tarot decks, just as I like the variety of fashion. Out there there must be a Tarot deck that fits me perfectly, in every sense.
(Can you see the Tarot connection in the images above from my shoot for Florencia Martinez?)

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