Fashion Icons as Totems: What Your Style Muse Says About You

In a world flooded with trends, influencer hauls, and algorithm-driven aesthetics, choosing a style icon is like choosing a totem—it’s personal, symbolic, and deeply revealing. Just as ancient cultures revered animals or symbols as guides, today’s fashion lovers find similar inspiration in iconic figures whose style transcends time.

From the timeless elegance of Audrey Hepburn to the fearless reinventions of Rihanna, our chosen muses act as fashion totems—archetypes that reflect who we are, what we value, and how we want to be seen.

So… who’s your fashion totem? And what does that say about your identity?

Let’s explore.

1. What Is a Fashion Totem?

Totems are more than aesthetic preferences—they’re mirrors of the soul. In fashion, your totem is the icon you instinctively gravitate toward for style inspiration. Not necessarily because you want to copy them—but because they reflect something essential about you.

Think of them as your fashion spirit guide. The way they dress tells a story you connect with, aspire to, or already live.

2. The Style Totem Archetypes: Who’s Yours?

Here are 7 fashion icons, each representing a powerful totem—and what aligning with them might reveal about your own style DNA.

Audrey Hepburn – The Elegant Minimalist

• Totem Traits: Grace, simplicity, quiet power

• Signature Style: Little black dresses, ballet flats, cropped pants, clean lines

• You Are: Poised, timeless, emotionally intelligent

• Your Power: Understated presence and unwavering inner confidence

Totem Message: “Elegance is the only beauty that never fades.”

Rihanna – The Shapeshifting Rebel

• Totem Traits: Fearlessness, transformation, rule-breaking

• Signature Style: Gender-fluid looks, bold silhouettes, high-low mix of couture and street

• You Are: Unapologetic, evolving, deeply intuitive

• Your Power: Reinvention and self-expression on your own terms

Totem Message: “Don’t follow the vibe—be the vibe.”

Zendaya – The Visionary Chameleon

• Totem Traits: Versatility, innovation, poise

• Signature Style: Red carpet risk-taker, nods to menswear, futuristic elegance

• You Are: A bridge between eras, able to hold complexity with grace

• Your Power: Using fashion as a statement and a stage

Totem Message: “Dress how you feel—not how they expect.”

Harry Styles – The Gender Alchemist

• Totem Traits: Fluidity, charm, androgyny

• Signature Style: Pearls, wide-leg pants, frilly collars, sequins

• You Are: A rule-breaker with heart, unafraid to show softness or flair

• Your Power: Blending masculine and feminine energies into harmony

Totem Message: “Style has no gender. Only intention.”

Frida Kahlo – The Artful Radical

• Totem Traits: Passion, resilience, cultural pride

• Signature Style: Embroidered dresses, bold florals, statement jewelry, symbolic headpieces

• You Are: Fierce and authentic, with a love for storytelling through clothes

• Your Power: Wearing your pain and your culture as creative fire

Totem Message: “Your body is a canvas—paint it with meaning.”

Princess Diana – The Icon of Contrast

• Totem Traits: Softness and strength, contradiction, influence

• Signature Style: Sloane Ranger pastels to off-duty biker shorts to revenge dresses

• You Are: Deeply sensitive but socially powerful

• Your Power: Channeling emotion into a visual statement that inspires change

Totem Message: “Style is strength wrapped in softness.”

Billie Eilish – The Conscious Outsider

• Totem Traits: Comfort, disruption, anonymity

• Signature Style: Oversized everything, slime green, dark themes, now soft luxury

• You Are: Protective of your energy, yet drawn to authenticity and rawness

• Your Power: Making room for emotion, mental health, and rebellion in fashion

Totem Message: “You don’t have to be seen to be powerful.”

3. How to Channel Your Fashion Totem

You don’t need to copy your style muse to embody their essence. Here’s how to integrate your fashion totem into your own look:

• Pick a Signature Detail: Audrey’s flats? Zendaya’s suiting? Rihanna’s bold lipstick? One touch can shift the energy.

• Use Fashion to Tell Your Story: What are you expressing with your look—confidence, vulnerability, curiosity?

• Mix Totems: You might be 70% Frida, 30% Harry—and that’s the beauty of it.

• Stay Inspired, Not Imitative: Take the spirit of your icon and adapt it to your lifestyle and message.

Conclusion: Wear Your Totem With Intention

In the end, style isn’t about fitting in—it’s about finding yourself. When you dress like your totem, you’re not just mimicking a celebrity—you’re channeling an archetype that speaks to your inner truth.

So whether you’re sashaying in sequins or grounding yourself in minimalist linen, ask: What energy am I calling in? What story am I telling?

Because style is more than what you wear. It’s who you are becoming.