May 15, 2019 |
White for purity and blue for peace, red for luck and soft pink for love… Colour theory can get as spiritual as your daily horoscope, so it makes sense to ask the queen of zodiac to choose your next purchase according to what its colour means. This is the thought behind the launch of the Kenzo Tali, the latest IT-bag to come out Humberto Leon and Carol Lim’s Parisian workshop. Originally presented during men’s fashion week as part of their mainline show AW19 show, the bag takes the notion of a good luck charm from a pendant and making it into a whole bag. And there’s plenty to choose from – there’s a total of nine variations in colours, textiles and sizes. But instead of just leaving the dilemma of choice up to you, Kenzo hired the astrologist to the stars (get it?) Susan Miller to curate the selection of Tali bags according to the meaning behind their colours and textiles. With imagery courtesy of surreal digital artist Filip Custic, the team created a custom app that allows you to spin the wheel and get assigned your perfect bag. With the eye talisman in the spotlight of its design and name, the Tali is your look into the future, as each bag carries unique properties which you find yourself in.
I spun the wheel and got the baby pink croco-effect one – “like pale pink, pink crocodile has many of the same loving associations but goes a step further,” Miller writes in her analysis. And you know, I pride myself with being a loving person. Plus, I love soft pink. As the astrology queen got it right, I had to get on a phone to her and ask for advice on how to finish 2019 on a high. Just to make it clear – I’m a horoscope noob whose knowledge of the field goes as far as the last page of a daily newspaper. But who else to teach me than the great mind behind Astrology Zone, a platform for which Miller tirelessly writes between 30,000 and 48,000 words a month (divided between 12 signs), creating comprehensive and detailed forecasts published free for her readers. Each year it serves 100 million page views to 6 million unique readers.
With the pink croco Tali hanging off my arm-crook hook à la Victoria Beckham circa 2006, I phone across the Atlantic loaded with questions. Miller answers all of them and then some. These are ten tips you should note in order to make 2019 the best year of your life, according to astrologist extraordinaire Susan Miller.
1. Throughout our hour-long conversation, the thing Miller kept on repeating was: “Don’t make any big decisions in July.” She goes on: “July is going to be a bit, well, haywire. I wouldn’t suggest any product introduction in July. When we have eclipses like then, things change and, no matter what, your priorities change to. It’s best to watch, look and listen but not initiate. If you must initiate it should be a response to someone else.”
2. Even when everything is bad, Miller believes there is always hope. “I was very excited to see Tiger Woods who finished his hardest year last year and won the [golf] Masters. This showed me that no matter what the circumstances – if you want something really badly you can do It. The masters is one of the hardest competitions to win as you have the best people in the whole world on that course, so it showed me that there is always hope.”
3. Be realistic. “Capricorn has really been meeting the challenges and they’re unemotional – they say ‘well it’s the way it is and I have to be realistic.’ They take things head on and that is their success because they are so practical and clear-eyed and realistic. Being realistic is a such a good quality in a person and the earth signs are very strong in that.”
4. Get married before getting married. “Every once in a while, I get a bride and a groom that are getting married and are all excited, but they picked a horrible time. I asked two friends: ‘Why are you getting married at this time?’ and the bride said ‘Oh, my grandmother wanted me to, it’s a very special time for her.’ I said: ‘We’ve got a problem – Venus is retrograding, Mars is retrograding, Mercury is retrograding.’ It was the worst time. I suggested something to them: ‘How about you two get married on a day I tell you?’ They were going to get married on November 7th but I worked on the charts and told them to do it on June 17th or 18th. ‘You should do it secretly and don’t tell anybody.’ They did. She wore a white dress, they had flowers and candles and it was so cute but they didn’t tell anybody, and had a big wedding in November. But in the eyes of the law and in the eyes of astrology, they were already married in June.”
5. Get yourself a Capricorn. “There is conservative vibrations which you can feel across the world, and I’ll tell you why. Capricorn is conservative and Capricorn saves what’s valuable from the past. That’s its job – it rules history. Actually, in the royal family – Princess Kate is a Capricorn.”
6. If you’re planning on plastic surgery – do it now. “Thank goodness Venus isn’t retrograding this year. You know, when Venus is retrograding you can’t do plastic surgery. I go to LA and they all get out their phones and make notes – ‘We’d better write this down,’ they go.”
7. Luckiest day of the year is December 27th. “The luckiest day of this year is when the Sun and Jupiter meet. Jupiter is the giver of gifts and luck and the mighty Sun multiplies Jupiter’s goodness many times over. This happens almost every year, and this one, we’re going to have it on December 27th.”
8. Consult an astrologist before trying for a baby. “The number one question I get is ‘Can I have a baby?’, because women have been waiting very long and their clock starts running out. A lot of girls are doing in-vitro which costs around $25,000 dollars, so I help them pick the month. It’s not bad to have a baby during Mercury retrograde though – my mother had me during one and it hasn’t stopped me. I’ve written 11 books.”
9. Don’t shop for Christmas presents until November 20th. “For the past two years, Mercury has been in retrograde right at the time of retail shopping for Christmas and Chanukah. And it has been very difficult because we’ve had to get gift card which are very boring and not very creative. This year, we can be creative and buy the perfect present. We can start shopping November 21st or, if it’s electronic, I would wait until December 1st [laughs]. It rules shopping.”
10. Hold tight – 2020 is gonna be a good one. “This year is actually a preparatory one for next year. 2020 is what all the astrologists have been waiting for because when you get two planets aligned that’s a conjunction, and we’re going to have three of those next year. I think the economy will be wonderful in 2020 and I’m trying to figure out how.”
The Kenzo Tali is available to shop online and in selected stores. Images by Filip Custic.
