The lion, the Kardashian, and the wardrobe

Fleur de Bono discusses the controversy surrounding Schiaparelli’s latest collection

Paris Haute Couture Week reached fever pitch when Kylie Jenner arrived at the Schiaparelli show wearing a dress from the designer’s collection featuring a fake lion’s head. The show season may often bring unexpected surprises, but I think it’s safe to say that giant, fake taxidermy was not on anyone’s bingo card.

The black velvet bustier dress worn by Jenner was also worn by model Irina Shayk down the runway, and the show also featured the life-like heads of a snow leopard and wolf attached to garments worn by Shalom Harlow and Naomi Campbell, respectively.

Responding to, or perhaps anticipating, the criticism in the comments section, Schiaparelli posted an Instagram video of Jenner, explaining the materials used to make the lion: “Hand sculpted foam, wool and silk faux fur... hand painted to look as lifelike as possible.” The brand added in capital letters: “NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN MAKING THIS LOOK.”

Is fashion selling its soul to social media?

Within minutes it was clear that social media couldn’t make up its mind. Some animal rights activists accused the brand of promoting animal cruelty and glamorising trophy hunting. Other groups saw no issue. The first camp included Carrie Johnson, who took to Instagram to call the designs “Grim”, adding “Real or fake this just promotes trophy hunting. Yuck”.

Conversely, PETA, an animal rights charity, unexpectedly came out in support of Schiaparelli. They called the animal heads “fabulously innovative.” The charity’s president Ingrid Newkirk said “[The look] celebrates lions’ beauty and may be a statement against trophy hunting, in which lion families are torn apart to satisfy human egotism… These fabulously innovative three-dimensional animal heads show that where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

Whether this show is going to encourage trophy hunting, or simply promote more faux-fur innovation, we may never know. It’s hard to tangibly measure the repercussions of a moment like this. Instead, I think there’s another simple and salient question at play. Is fashion selling its soul to social media?

In the last six months there have been dresses in champagne velvet or black satin wool. It was at these moments that the brand’s trademark surrealism pervaded. I found the animal heads, dare I say it, a gaudy and unnecessary addition to an otherwise stunning collection.

Brands feel they must be increasingly outrageous

In the show notes, Creative Director Daniel Roseberry cited Dante’s Inferno as his inspiration. On seeing the pictures, my first thought was not so much Dante’s Inferno, but more “they’ve stu ed Simba”. The Divine Comedy has been creatively reimagined for centuries. Just last year, William Blake’s watercolour depiction was expertly distilled by Sarah Burton into Alexander McQueen’s SS22 collection. I think any intent and meaning behind this Instagram-era interpretation was always doomed to get lost in the online noise.

It’s a shame that brands feel they must be increasingly outrageous to make an impact.

I still remember Chanel’s readyto-wear fall show in 2014 for all the right reasons. A major fashion house had turned the runway into a supermarket with brilliant success. Their shows are always my favourite to watch because the sets create a spectacular sensorial experience without ever compromising on the collection itself.

marketing is very Emily in Paris. When I saw the pictures from Schiaparelli, one of my immediate reactions was *sigh*. A design choice as much about going viral as anything else. I don’t want to be a fashion puritan, but I miss the not-so-distant days when fashion week was about, well, fashion.

For me the real triumph of the show was the exceptional tailoring and exquisite evening visual.arts@palatinate.org.uk

A turning point for fashion was Viktor and Rolf’s SS 2019 collection when pictures of dresses emblazoned with slogans such as ‘No photos please’ or ‘I’m not shy, I just don’t like you’ permeated the Internet. These designs were ripe for sharing on social media. Since then, it has felt as if couture week is turning into a meme-factory. It must be a good thing if fashion is reaching the masses, but this modus operandi feels very volatile.

Did the gamble pay o for Schiaparelli? There’s no doubt that brands face a tough balancing act between provocative marketing and the changing tide of consumer values. If you believe the adage “there’s no such thing as bad publicity”, then this show was a triumph.