Why I think the leopard isn't going away

The animal print trend is becoming over saturated, but it was something that was pretty impossible to ignore, and not talk about. Animal print is a repeating seasonal trend traditionally autumn/winter, but it has never before seemed so prevalent. The patterns (particularly leopard) is seen in every area of fashion, from clothing to stationary, and is fast becoming a mega trend.

To me a trend has become more than the usual trend, when it is very hard to use consumer segmentation to find a subgroup that the trend fits into. Leopard print has gradually been marketed to all ages, genders and characteristics.

If I’m being honest I was raised with the idea that leopard print was tacky, which sounds so wrong considering how much I love it now. My mum always avoided any animal print, and as it wasn’t always as main stream I seemed to naturally do the same. As it gained popularity, I began to see the many ways it can be worn and designed, and it opened my eyes to how fun and stylish the print can be. Im not sure if it was just that I was the constantly being surrounded by it, or that I simply that I do like leopard print and  never truly realized it.

One of the great things about the trend is that is can slide seamlessly from one season to the next. It goes with bright spring and summer colors, and also goes with the neutrals of autumn and winter. It is because of this that I believe the trend has real potential of becoming a credible classic in our wardrobes. Also it has been around for a solid amount of time in a big way, and clearly spread into all seasons. I’m not 100% but I even see it potentially becoming one of the defining trends of our era.

I was trying to identify why there was such a surge in the trend recently, and why designers across all sectors have really taken the full plunge with the trend. As we know the economy has a massive effect on the fashion cycle. Back in the day authentic animal products and prints on clothes and accessories, such as bags, coats and shoes where very expensive and luxurious. They were a sign of wealth, extravagance and status.

Although wearing products like these have become taboo, and rightly so, perhaps after shunning these animal products for so long, we were able to re-discover the beauty and fun of the pattern. Maybe we have all started to accept that any real animal products are unacceptable, and we are finally ready to embrace the fake version of the trend as a great way to still enjoy the prints, rather than a tacky knock off.

I believe that this trend is a way of accessing the luxury look from years ago, at affordable prices. Perhaps this idea that animal products mean luxury is ingrained in us, but now we have found a way to embrace this without harming any animals, and without feeling tacky.

The trend isn’t going away any time soon, and although I never saw myself saying this, I love it!