The animalier trend is back. Already part of the fall-winter 2023 collections, it has established itself even more strongly in the spring-summer 2024 ones. Also called urban jungle, this trend is not new, though. Indeed, patterns reproducing fur and skin of the animal world have a long history.
We can date back the birth of the animal print to Prehistory. At the time our ancestors believed that animals had supernatural powers and drew them on the walls of the caves they inhabited. In the classical era the animal print became synonymous with luxury. Indeed, in the Greek and Roman worlds only the rich and powerful could wear exotic animals fur. Unfortunately, then this trend wasn’t yet cruelty-free as it usually is today.
The first fabrics with animal prints appeared during the Renaissance, in the wake of a growing interest for nature in art and culture. However, they were still a privilege of a small elite, composed of noble and rich bourgeois.
It was in the 1900s that the animalier trend eventually conquered mass fashion. At the time, safari trips to Africa were becoming popular and Hollywood divas wore these patterns in movies. Famous examples are Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn. Thus, animal printed clothing began circulating not only among luxury fashion houses, such as Dior or Cavalli, but also among prêt-à-porter brands.
Talking of Roberto Cavalli, the animal print has always been one of the distinctive elements of the house, which just recently mourned the death of its founder.
