What Astrology Tells Us About Martin Margiela’s and Marc Jacobs’s Shared Birthday
Today, fashion is celebrating the birth of two of its most influential icons: Martin Margiela and Marc Jacobs. Born six years—and many more miles—apart, Margiela and Jacobs have both a cut a path outside the fashion norm, influencing not only the culture of fashion at large but also pop culture. What’s the significance of two of the fashion world’s foremost creators sharing the same date of birth?
To start, Margiela and Jacobs both have their Sun in Aries. Aries is the first sign in the zodiac circle, so it has the most youthful qualities. Aries people don’t sit on the sidelines. They’re quick to action, and they’ll spend their entire lives feeling the need to initiate and get things going. There’s nothing more aggravating to an Aries than procrastination and slow-moving plans. As such, Margiela and Jacobs both have the capability for passionate careers. They’re both direct with what they want, and they’re always ready to tackle the next big challenge. Any setbacks they face are used only to better perfect their craft.
Not only do the two share similar Aries personality traits, but it’s also easy for them to understand and appreciate each other. That could be why Jacobs is quick to reveal his admiration for Margiela, even going as far as referencing Margiela’s “Xerox” dresses in his Resort 2016 collection. By the same token, they also may have similar shortcomings, and so at times they could see characteristics they don’t like about themselves in the other person.
Although Jacobs and Margiela share the same birth date, their personalities still differ. Not all Ariens are the same, after all—that’s where the astrological birth chart comes in. Based on the exact time and location of a person’s birth, a birth chart reveals a more in-depth look at someone’s personality traits. Because Margiela and Jacobs were born in two different cities, six years apart, their charts reveal these essential differences.
Jacobs was born on April 9, 1963, in New York City. In addition to his Aries Sun, he also has Mercury in Aries. Mercury is the planet of thoughts and communication, so having it in Aries could give Jacobs a fiery or blunt way of expressing himself. Jacobs was born at the time of a full moon in Libra. When a person is born during a full moon, they can be torn between what their heart truly desires and what’s the most comforting and safe thing for them to do. Since it’s in the partnership sign of Libra, he might be looking for a partner to feel complete. (We’d say he found it in his husband, Char Defrancesco, whom he married over the weekend in New York.) A general theme in Jacobs’s chart is the idea of giving himself to other people. His Venus is in Pisces, which means he feels things very deeply and approaches life in a romantic way. In addition to love, Venus dictates one’s material tastes, so part of this never-ending emotion he experiences could find its way into his clothing designs and business—see the models he uses on repeat, like Jamie Bochert, Stella Tennant, and Gigi Hadid.
Margiela, born six years earlier, on April 9, 1957, in Genk, Belgium, has his Leo Moon falling close to Uranus, which shows he needs constant excitement or he grows bored. It’s not a surprising trait for a designer who left his namesake brand in 2009—according to his chart he subconsciously craves change, and so he always has to be evolving as a person and pushing his own limits. Continuing with the fire-sign theme, Margiela’s Venus falls in Aries, meaning he is playful and that he loves spontaneity. The way he works can perhaps be kind of frantic, with his Mars in Gemini, signaling the potential need for an irregular schedule to stay motivated. (Maybe that’s why he’s been off the grid for nearly a decade?) If boredom sets in or life becomes too predictable, he could grow tired. Gemini gives him a more nervous energy, so to keep this at bay, he needs to always have his mind occupied, whether that be with reading, researching, or making new designs.
Perhaps the most telling coincidence related to Margiela’s and Jacobs’s charts is that they both have planets in Leo. Margiela’s Moon and Jacobs’s Mars fall into this dramatic fire sign, which is all about creative self-expression. This Leo influence gives both designers the urge to articulate themselves through their designs. They’re not afraid to take risks, and they like to show off their creativity on a grand scale. Ruled by the Sun, Leo makes it hard for a person to go unnoticed. Even if they themselves are more self-conscious, they will still produce something that catches the eye.
