The Meaning Behind That Trending Crescent Moon Symbol Is Not The Same For Everyone

Anyone tuned into current catwalk affairs is familiar with the massive moon-shaped mark that designer Marine Serre has made on the fashion world. With her recent LVMH prize in tow, the French-born, Balenciaga-bred creative fuses futuristic sportswear with 19th-century silhouettes, peppering everything from catsuits to sock boots with her unofficial trademark: the crescent moon. For Serre, the symbol's association with Islamic iconography is one of the reasons why she uses it so consistently, threading solidarity through one collection after the next in troubling times of heightened Islamophobia.

"From a different country or a different culture [the crescent moon] means something really different," she told journalist Suzy Menkes in an interview for Matches. "Of course in France or in other countries some people were directly thinking about Arabic worlds... It's also a symbol that evolves so I really like the fact that it could evolve also with us."

And it's not just Serre who’s over the moon about this celestial shape. Its cyclical nature carries a spiritual relevance across faiths and cultures, representing new beginnings, growth, and the passage of time. The crescent was an object of our Sailor Moon manga fantasies in the '90s, a source of inspiration for an ethereal accessories collection by Isabel Marant, and a dazzling nail art trend that populated our social feeds not long after Serre came along with her emblazoned balaclavas and jersey tops (good luck finding one that isn't sold out, by the way). It's also a cosmic symbol fit for the goddesses among us, appearing in mythological legends about deities like Hekate and Luna.

This ancient effeminate energy has also manifested in the form of jewelry charms and talismans. "Indeed, the crescent moon is known as a feminine symbol because it is related to birth and fertility as well as intuition, psychic abilities, creativity and wisdom that are connected to womanhood," says Noor Fares, a Lebanese jeweler who was so fascinated by the motif she dedicated an entire collection to it, aptly named Fly Me to the Moon. "It embodies the solace I find at night time."

So whether you're channeling a divine force of style or taking a page from Kendall Jenner's Instagram, here's a selection of crescent pieces that will shed some moonlight onto your closet and beyond.