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You’d be forgiven for thinking that this Chinese New Year, February 10th, welcomes the reign of the dragon. To the contrary, just five weeks into 2024, one animal has already claimed its spot as fashion’s socialite for the next 12-months. This is, of course, the leopard.
Gone are the days where leopard print was reserved for Kat Slater and the sarong your mum wore every holiday for a decade. The recent emergence of the print as a wardrobe staple verifies that time can, and frequently does, heal all wounds. My favourite analogy I’ve heard so far for the leopard-fever is that leopard is not a print – it’s a neutral!
I have wondered though exactly how and why we are consuming so much of the queen of the animal kingdom. Here are three of the trendiest leopard print items you can own, how to wear them, and why we love them!
To begin, my leading light of the leopard-mania, and the most likely culprit to send me into my next overdraft, the Adidas Samba x Wales Bonner.If a shoe was in danger of going extinct, this would be it. Though I worry that the Samba’s will, like the Gazelle’s, Nike’s Jordans, and Superstars, dig their own grave through over popularity – an issue I’ve never faced – I do think that they will remain a player in the footwear world well into this summer for two reasons. The first, because I may be able to afford them by then. The second, if I cannot afford them, they may have released a children’s range that I will use my blowdryer on until I can squeeze into them; the latest initiative in my crusade to increase kid’s sizes to a women’s 5.
Either way, I will commit myself to being the Johnny Cash of the Samba to ensure they remain trendy long enough for me to own a pair. A marginally less noble cause than Cash’s social justice campaign. Usually partnered with some chunky white socks, unbranded because God forbid people should know where you buy your socks nowadays, and a pair loose on legs but snug around the waist jeans, branded. Credited to Grace Wales Bonner, London born fashion designer, the sneakers are part of an eight piece range, all of which have become firmly cemented in the wardrobes of off-duty models, actors, and Usher.
Second is a more predictable but no-less consumed trend. Leopard print faux-fur. Having dominated the fashion industry times before, notably sported by ‘It Girls’ Kate Moss and Alexa Chung, absolutely nothing about a leopard print coat deserves to be left in the noughties. I got mine the summer before moving to London, off of Vinted. It came with an ominous stain at the bottom, which I soon cut out, and a packet of expired gum tucked into the pocket, which I’ve kept for posterity.
Laurence Olivier once said: “Inside we’re all seventeen, with red lips.” The lesser known part of the quote being, “with red lips and a leopard pelt coat”. Any item of safari faux fur is the perfect ode to decades of fashion icons. It’s too cool to be tacky, and it hasn’t risen to popularity too quickly for its own good. It’s timeless.
Finally, the newest edition to the exotic craze, the totally revered leopard print trousers. ‘Jeans and a nice top’ is no longer a phrase uttered amongst 20-something girls deciding what to wear from an accumulated collective wardrobe on a Friday night. Instead, it’s ‘trousers wide enough that they require their own postcode, and a plain top’. I have an unholy amount of trousers that, stood sideways, I’d struggle to fit onto the Bakerloo line. To pair with them, an equally outrageous number of monochromatic t-shirts bought in a size too small.
For those less concerned about TFL practicalities, predominantly the girls swarming my Pinterest recently posing outside of central London pubs in cropped grey tanks and printed jeans, the leopard trouser is a hot piece to add to your collection. Luckily, they’re popping up everywhere! Scoring on both value and style, I’d recommend Boden if you’re considering making the investment. Otherwise, try eBay. This isn’t the first (nor last) time leopard print will be in Vogue. You might find that Claire, 40, from Ealing, is selling the exact pair that you’ve been after. She might be selling a fur coat too!
It remains to be seen whether the leopard frenzy will run for the whole year, but there is no doubt that it will soon return again- maybe as a zebra!