Forget cheetah print and fur coats — amid heightened discussion of animal cruelty and sustainability, fashion is finding inventive new ways to pay homage to our furry friends.
Animals have been used as fashion fodder since prehistory, when early humans donned skins and furs to stay warm. Eventually, these animal byproducts were used to denote social status — in ancient Egypt, for example, a leopard or lion skin could only be worn by kings and other nobility.
It wasn't until the 1970s that the use of fur and other animal-based materials began facing backlash from animal rights organizations such as PETA. It took even longer for luxury fashion labels to begin reconsidering their use of genuine fur, a reassessment fueled by increased consumer desire for brands to take a stand on social issues, whether it be sustainability, animal rights, or racial equality. In 2021, Kering officially went fur-free, as did luxury e-tailers MyTheresa and Nordstrom.
Now, in 2023, it seems as though fur has fallen entirely out of favor, an attitude felt acutely in the aftermath of Schiaparelli's Spring 2023 couture show, which featured a giant, fake lion head affixed to a gown. While the animal head was entirely man-made, Schiaparelli and creative director Daniel Roseberry faced vicious backlash for supposedly glamorizing trophy hunting for mounting a lion's head (which, to reiterate, was fake) on a dress.
Despite the PR disaster that was Schiaparelli's latest couture outing, designers aren't eschewing animals entirely. As we enter the second half of Fashion Month Fall/Winter 2023, it appears they're finding ways to pay homage to the four-legged that won't incur consumer wrath.
At Collina Strada, makeup artist Isamaya Ffrench outfitted models in colorful prosthetics that transformed them into dolphins, rabbits, and dogs — a fur and skin-free way to capture the beauty of the animal kingdom. Collina Strada wasn't the only show that featured animal-inspired makeup: Mimicking the undulating pattern of snake skin, Ffrench applied iridescent eyeshadow to models' foreheads at Dion Lee.
Animal attraction continued into London Fashion Week. Christopher Kane showed full-length gowns printed with pigs and rats and at Burberry, Daniel Lee's debut collection featured trapper hats knitted to resemble mallard ducks. And we can't forget JW Anderson's frog-faced Wellipets, spotted front row at the brand's show over the weekend.
Whether it's the feline glamor of a big cat or the irresistible cuteness of a farm animal, wildlife will always inspire art — and capture consumer imagination. It's up to designers to adapt to buyers ever-changing preferences, working around their recent taste for fully vegan fashion. To paraphrase Darwin: Only the fittest will survive.
