Will Leopard Print Ever Go Out of Style?

A reader is puzzled by the popularity of animal print in women’s fashion. Our critic offers an explanation for its appeal.

Leopard print — indeed, all animal prints, including zebra, python, cow and many not actually found in nature — have been with us since our long-ago ancestors turned the pelts of the animals they killed for food into clothing. Its role as a signifier has changed according to time and context, but it has never really disappeared, even as fur itself has fallen out of favor. While the lion may be king of the jungle, the leopard, or at least the leopard’s spots, is the king of fashion.

Michael Kors, in one of my favorite terms ever, called it “an outrageous neutral.”

For centuries, leopard skin was a sign of wealth and power — Sheshat, the Egyptian goddess of wisdom, was always depicted in a leopard skin, as was the Greek god Dionysus, and Zulu kings began wearing the skin in the 19th century. It entered the general style lexicon in the 1930s thanks to the film “Tarzan the Apeman,” which featured Maureen O’Sullivan in, yup, leopard. Christian Dior solidified its status when he included a leopard print in his first fashion show in 1947 (the one that gave the world the New Look).

Elizabeth Taylor loved leopard, as did Jackie Kennedy. Mrs. Robinson wore leopard. So did Jayne Mansfield — and Sid Vicious. Roberto Cavalli and Dolce & Gabbana built empires on it. It’s a staple in Las Vegas. It suggests predators, confidence, flamboyance, camp and animal attraction.

(On that subject: In 2013 the Chessington World of Adventures in Surrey, England, banned visitors from wearing leopard and tiger print for fear it was confusing the animals, who saw visitors as either prey or potential, um, friends.)

If you want to know more, check out the 2018 book, “Fierce: the History of Leopard Print.”