Cat Power
- Beatriz Zimmermann
- 7 hours ago
- 7 min read
Unlike most fashion trends, leopard style never really goes out of fashion. From royals to old Hollywood, to now, these spots have remained fierce as a sartorial statement and a cultural touchpoint – here’s why.
Is there any arena more fickle than fashion? Somehow, within this most volatile of jungles, leopard looks and motifs continue to prowl and reign.
While our jeans may ride high or low and we may quietly tuck away last year’s fad (please! No more naked dresses), our possibly primal love of leopard never seems to fail. It happens like clockwork every year and across the seasons: fashion-y insiders declare – yet again – that leopard is back. The thing is, it never really goes away.
As I write, I’ve spotted no fewer than seven social posts, two Vogue articles, and several leopard-clad celeb sightings that have resulted in instantly coveted looks. I can also spot several such looks in my own closet, and I’m not opposed to adding more if some cute new leopard garment catches my eye.
Cat power is real, and leopard looks go back a long way with fashion history intersecting with real history. The ancient Greeks were the first to make the leopard look chic by associating it with Dionysus, the god of wine. A favored animal of the god, Dionysus is often depicted riding a leopard or in a chariot drawn by the animal. These gorgeous creatures could also be found by his side as this good-time god travelled the earth teaching the art of winemaking to mere (and eager) mortals. Leopards, in that sense, were the first party animals. Fashion trends being contagious (not much has changed there), Dionysus’ priests soon adopted the look for themselves by draping their bodies in leopard skins to symbolize the merits of wild times and good wine.
This mythological connection also pops up in ancient Egypt, where leopards were a popular motif. Seshat, the goddess of writing and wisdom, was often depicted wearing a leopard skin dress or mantle as a symbol of authority, giving leopard print a nice splash of cerebral chic. Leopard later scored points with real-life royals, too. Henry VIII, never one for subtlety, boasted a pretty out-there fashion sense with a variety of animal furs making up the king’s wardrobe – leopard skins among them. Interestingly, exotic animal gifts were all the rage during the medieval and Tudor ages and also inspired what would become the royal menagerie at the Tower of London, a collection of exotic animals from far-flung places as varied as Norway, Africa, and India. In 1516, Sir John Wiltshire wrote to the king, warning him of the arrival of some rather unusual gifts from Italy’s Duke of Ferrara – among them, a live leopard.
Henry decreed that commoners were forbidden to wear leopard in any form, thus crowning the leopard look with that all-important driver of fashion trends – exclusivity. Of course, exclusivity has a way of triggering something else: instant desire. Fast forward to now(ish) and exotic animals as both a look and a power pet would become all the rage in 1920s and ‘30s Paris, albeit among a rarified set of high rollers and stylers. Josephine Baker, an international sensation at the time and later an honorary French citizen, was often seen strolling the streets of Paris with her pet cheetah Chiquita in tow. Note that cheetahs are considered relatively harmless to humans as opposed to leopards. However, to the untrained eye, the shock and awe upon seeing such a creature is the same. Baker was known to cause a major stir among café society as she glided past gasping onlookers, clutching a long and bejeweled leash attached to Chiquita.
Diana Vreeland, fashion legend and editor-in-chief at Vogue from 1963 to 1971, recounts in her memoirs one of those infamous Josephine Baker sightings. A discerning style spotter, she was surprised – and thrilled – to discover Chiquita and Baker sitting just a few seats away in the same Paris theater in Montmartre one summer day. All in attendance were there to escape the heat while taking in a screening of L’Atlantide, a Jacques Feyder film which featured a bevy of cheetahs. Surprised to see the glamorous film-goer, Vreeland was duly impressed by both Chiquita’s good behavior and the exquisite style of her mistress as she watched the pair speed off into an awaiting white and silver Rolls-Royce. Always one for sweeping pronouncements, Vreeland described the scene thus: “What a gesture! I've never seen anything like it. It was speed at its best, and style.” Vreeland has also been quoted as saying she never met a leopard print she didn’t like.
Leopard sightings in fashion became more common during the 1920s, as the motif became increasingly accessible in fabric, popping up on everything from couture gowns to hats and scarves. In 1938, leopard looks took a starring role in the Hollywood classic, Bringing Up Baby, starring Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant. The screwball plot effectively heightened the fascination with leopard adventures.
Come the 1950s, leopard styles would convey a different kind of danger via the bombshell look. Pin-up stars like Betty Page and Jayne Mansfield soon adopted leopard styles to seal their own naughty girl-next-door vibes. Too shy to wear leopard in public? No problem, thanks to Fredericks of Hollywood, a brand that launched a racy leopard-inspired line of lingerie in 1947. Technically, Vanity Fair, a competing lingerie brand, was the first to market leopard lingerie with the introduction of its signature print bras and slips, alongside a campaign that straddled the elegant with the risqué, but it was Fredericks that pulled out all the stops for bombshell looks. Soon, a new national audience could unleash cat-powered sex appeal in the privacy of their home.
Leopard looks, with all their flash, are not for the timid or those who want to blend in. In an ironic fashion twist, this is the opposite function of leopard prints in their natural habitat, according to fashion aficionado Jo Weldon, who wrote Fierce: The History of Leopard Print, a tell-all history of leopard fashions. “A leopard’s coat serves as a supreme camouflaging device in the wild, making it difficult for their prey to observe them,” says Weldon. “But this is quite the opposite in an urban jungle where wearing leopard makes a powerful statement and commands attention.”
Over time, not-so-subtle leopard styles would take on an even more sexualized vibe, straying into new territory – namely, gentlemen’s clubs and as a go-to look in striptease. But fashion, always mercurial, meant that leopard looks would eventually assume a loftier spot. In 1962, Jacqueline Kennedy, the epitome of high style and elegance, appeared in a stunning leopard-skin coat for an official engagement, effectively setting off a whole new wave of leopard obsession. Designed by Oleg Cassini, the look instantly ignited a frenzy for leopard coats that reportedly resulted in the capture of nearly 250,000 leopards. Cassini, who never quite recovered from the guilt of setting off such a cruel trend, vowed never again to work with fur, becoming one of the first and most notable anti-fur crusaders and an advocate for animal preservation. An early adopter of then-new synthetic fabrics like polyester and acrylic in his ready-to-wear collections, Cassini paved the way for innovations that led to realistic-feeling faux fur, ultimately helping to offset the desire for the real thing. Leopard fur was officially banned in the United States in 1973 by the Endangered Species Act, which prohibited the importation and sale of leopard skin – thankfully marking the end of the leopard fur coat.
There’s always been an evolutionary aspect to fashion’s trend cycle. The leopard look has been particularly adept at transforming and seizing some peak pop culture moments. There’s Anne Bancroft’s iconic leopard fashions in the 1967 Mike Nichols film, The Graduate, with Bancroft playing the classic cougar in pursuit of her daughter’s fiancé, a young Dustin Hoffman (who was only six years younger than Bancroft at the time of filming). More cultural breakthroughs came by way of ‘70s punk and glam rock, with some of the most notable leopard-print wearers — among them, Debbie Harry, Iggy Pop, and Rob Stewart — whose leopard suits and skintight pants would become sartorial staples, both on stage and off. During the pandemic, Stewart was even spotted wearing a leopard print mask, proving yet again the generational prowess of leopard style.
Apart from its punk glam appeal, leopard has turned up at style moments as varied as burlesque; on our favorite superhero films and media (hello, Catwoman); midcentury muses like Edie Sedgwick; and, later, entire style movements like big ‘80s boldness, and even drag. When you think of John Waters’ films, you automatically think of Divine, and when you think of Divine, you think of drag and leopard. Divine’s presence was accessorized by many a leopard look, both on stage and in those cult movies by Waters. So, what is it about leopard styles that holds such enduring fascination and undisputed fashion cred?
“It speaks to us on every level,” according to Weldon, who points out its unique cultural appeal. “Over the years, it has accumulated many meanings while adapting to various styles and situations – from luxe to lazy and from the divine to the debauched.”
Once the dominion of gods, goddesses, and kings and queens, leopard style has gone from the royal to a full-on rebellion, proving its wildly democratic power. But perhaps the most significant power lies in having crossed every imaginable boundary, including gender, affluence, and celebrity, while flirting with plenty of taboos along the way. And that might be the ultimate attraction: a lack of rules and the freedom (AKA joy) of making a statement, however small or neon sign-like. Leopard print, after all, has an instinct for attention and always makes an impression as it prowls across the seasons, turning up on everything from winter coats to summery slip dresses.
Recently, leopard styles roared onto Chanel runways for its celebrated show in New York City. An instant sensation thanks in part to an unlikely NYC subway setting, Matthieu Blazy’s designs included, you guessed it, a leopard look or two. Madame Chanel was known to carry off her own leopard looks back in her day, so the influence and reference were fitting as the dots continue to connect. Leopard style continues to prove to be that rare and coveted thing in fashion: timeless. When it comes to communicating confidence, sexuality, and unabashed style, it’s the biggest game in town. 🌀
Beatriz Zimmermann is an award-nominated fragrance writer based in NYC. An incurable Francophile (and romantic), she loves to connect some of her favorite things in her writing whenever possible, like art, fashion, history, and literature. You can find more of her musings @luxemlove.