Reality star Kylie Jenner turned heads Monday with a furry haute couture look that earned even PETA’s stamp of approval.
The “Kardashians” personality attended the Schiaparelli Spring/Summer ’23 fashion show in Paris wearing a custom gown designed by Schiaparelli creative director Daniel Roseberry. But unlike regular black gowns, Jenner’s had a wild touch to it: a lifelike lion’s head, mane and all, attached to the right shoulder.
“BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. thank you @danielroseberry and @schiaparelli for such a special morning,” Jenner said Monday on Instagram. “wow i loved wearing this faux art creation constructed by hand using manmade materials. beautiful beautiful”
The cosmetics mogul’s lion-laden ensemble was just a sample of the animal looks Schiaparelli touted as part of its “Inferno Couture” line.
On Monday’s runway, Naomi Campbell showcased a furry coat with a black wolf’s head on her shoulder, while Shalom Harlow flaunted a leopard-print dress with a realistic leopard baring its teeth on her chest.
For these outfits, Schiaparelli wanted to make one thing clear, saying in a press release: “NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN MAKING THIS LOOK.”
Instead of severed animal heads with genuine fur, the eye-catching accessories were made with hand-sculpted foam, wool and silk faux fur. They were hand-painted to look as lifelike as possible, “celebrating the glory of the natural world,” Schiaparelli said in the release.
Even PETA, which has long spoken out against the use of real fur and leather in the fashion industry, was a fan.
Ingrid Newkirk, president of the animal-rights group, told TMZ on Monday that Jenner’s look “celebrates lions’ beauty and may be a statement against trophy hunting, in which lion families are torn apart to satisfy human egotism.”
She continued: “These fabulously innovative three-dimensional animal heads show that where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
Some Instagram users disagreed.
“Sorry but it’s a no for me. Whether it’s fake or not, it promotes animal cruelty,” a user commented under a Schiaparelli Instagram post.
“The only thing this is glorifying is the killing of these animals, even if this is fake. The lion, cheetah and the wolf seem like they are literally meant to look as if they were killed and used for clothing,” a second user wrote. “How is this celebrating the glory of the natural world. Make it make sense.”
According to Schiaparelli, the realistic animal heads were a nod to Dante’s “Inferno,” with each beast representing a different vice.
In addition to the animal looks, Schiaparelli’s newest line of ornate luxury wear included sculptural gowns with exaggerated features and gilded accessories.
“Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso: One cannot exist without the others,” Schiaparelli said in an Instagram video showing its fashion show. “It is a reminder that there is no such thing as heaven without hell; there is no joy without sorrow; there is no ecstasy of creation without the torture of doubt.”
