State of the Art: Why Is Fashion Still Obsessed With Snoopy?
In State of the Art, a column for Highsnobiety, Chris Erik Thomas untangles the crossover between fashion and art.
It may actually be physically impossible to not be charmed by Snoopy. This famously fictional beagle, Charlie Brown’s furry friend since the first Peanuts comic strip released in 1950, feels designed to be beloved. Part of that is because of his simple, curved shape — like a couturier’s early sketch —but also because of what he represents.
Snoopy is a creative’s creative. Imaginative and optimistic, he was given an inner life that turned his doghouse into a stage for acting out all the fantasies swirling around his dog brain. All while being, again, absurdly charming.
These elements made Snoopy more than just a cute pet with floppy black ears and a little collar; they made him a style icon, as a massive new “Snoopy in Style NYC” exhibition is here to remind you.
Wander through the show — or its gift shop, curated by colette co-founder Sarah Andelman — and you’ll see an incredibly diverse mix of custom fits for the little dog. There’s Snoopy in a corduroy BODE jacket-and-pants set with a matching tote and wooden couch covered in little drawings, and again in a sharp Amiri burgundy suit and a collared shirt with tiny glittery pinstriping. You’ll find him in mini-Willy Chavarria and Jeff Hamilton’s handstitched New York Knicks jackets and even Highsnobiety merch. (High-snoop-iety, if you will.)
To be fair, Snoopy’s creative spark made him a shapeshifter long before fashion ever got involved. In 1965, Snoopy climbed atop his doghouse in an aviator cap and goggles to transform into the World War I-era fighter pilot, Flying Ace. It was just the first of many alter-egos to debut in Peanuts, ranging from the sunglass-wearing college student cipher Joe Cool — whose Akila shades are for sale at “Snoopy in Style NYC” — to Beagle Scout, a pre-gorpcore outdoorsy pup in a yellow hat and a neckerchief. Give a dog that many costume changes, and it’s no wonder fashion designers eventually came calling.
Snoopy’s swag traces back to the early 80s, when Peanuts creator Charles “Sparky” Schulz's longtime merchandising collaborator, Connie Boucher, turned the comic character into a plushie — then convinced fashion houses like Gucci and Fendi and Issey Miyake to sew outfits for it. The result was a museum’s worth of swaggy little Snoopies (plus his sister, Belle) that inspired “Snoopy in Fashion,” a mid-’80s touring exhibition that stopped everywhere from London and Florence to Paris and Tokyo, effectively enshrining the Peanuts pooch as an American icon on par with the likes of Mickey Mouse and McDonald's.
Decades later, the legacy is still growing. Snoopy has become one of fashion’s most prolific collaborators, touting a list of linkups so long it would make even Supreme go green (or maybe brick red) with envy.
There are the Snoopy x Marc Jacobs sneakers and UNIQLO T-shirts, the Gucci jeans and Lacoste jackets. But also, little plushy costumes (re)designed by Chanel, Dior, Givenchy, Coach, Levi’s, Kith, Sacai, Martine Serre, Mugler, and literally dozens more. When you have a character so simply drawn yet so endlessly adaptable, who also happens to be a perfect symbol of creative spirit, what brand wouldn’t want to tap into that?
Let’s be real: at this point in his long life, Snoopy has become an American icon with enough fashion cred to warrant an uncancellable Met Gala show of his own.
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