Fierce

The History of Leopard Print

Jo Weldon

• Publisher: Harper
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN:
  9780062692955
  9780062692955
• eBook ISBN:
  9780062692962
• Topic: Design
• Subtopic: Fashion Design

In this lush compendium illustrated with full-color images, the author of The Burlesque Handbook chronicles the history of one of the world’s most beloved fashion patterns—leopard print—celebrating its beauty and place in couture, and the women who have dared to wear it.

In nature, the distinctive markings on big cats served as camouflage, helping them to blend into their surroundings when hunting prey. Unlike these magnificent predators, humans have donned this distinctive animal pattern to be noticed; leopard print demands an audience. Jo Weldon, an expert in the world of burlesque, reveals how this sexy, playful, decadent, and vibrant pattern once reserved for royalty came into vogue and became a staple of fashion.

With the revolution in technology and the rise of mass production in the early 1900s, textiles could be produced quickly and inexpensively, transforming every industry. Couture experienced a creative awakening: colors, prints, and patterns never seen before became ubiquitous. A greater freedom of choice in ready-to-wear clothing gave women the opportunity to express themselves in new styles. From its inception in textile, leopard print—long used as a symbol of a warrior’s power or a ruler’s wealth—became a sensation, adopted by daring trendsetters and members of the avant-garde, including film stars and celebrities such as Carole Lombard and Josephine Baker, who walked her pet Cheetah, Chiquita, on a diamond-encrusted leash. The desire for leopard print continues today as Nicki Minaj, Rihanna and other stars flaunt their feline-inspired spots on film and stage, the catwalk and the red carpet.

With a lively narrative, informative sidebars, and stunning images, Fierce is a must have collection for designers and fashionistas of all kinds.

What Is Leopard Print?

AS FAR AS I’M CONCERNED, LEOPARD IS A NEUTRAL.

—Jenna Lyons

“Leopard print” isn’t in the dictionary. Perhaps some would argue that, since “leopard” is merely a modifier for “print,” the phrase doesn’t qualify for its own entry any more than “black lace.” Still, there are listings for “French seam” and “polka dot” and “tube sock,” so why no entry for one of the most distinctive fashion phenomena of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries? The combination of these two words is uniquely evocative. Any lover (or hater, certainly) of leopard print knows that it’s so much more than just a print. It’s a statement, a symbol, and an implication. The dictionary almost always lags behind slang and terms of popular culture, yet this excuse fails to satisfy when they’ve had so much time to pick up on it. After all, the phrase “cat café” was added to the Oxford Dictionaries in 2015. And when was the last time you saw a cat café? As recently as the last time you saw leopard print? The author rests her case.

Since Wikipedia is crowdsourced, it should do a better job of reflecting current popular words and phrases. Yet a search for “leopard print” redirects to an entry for “animal print,” which includes all kinds of animals—big cats, yes, but also monkeys and zebras and giraffes. The patterns of big cats deserve a special place. Zebras, while stunning, are not ferocious. Leopards are apex predators, which means they are at the top of the animal food chain. The desire to dress like a dangerous animal has a specific intention to it that simply dressing like a pretty animal doesn’t convey. Those who choose to wear leopard print may not mean to say that they are predators, but they are definitely saying they are not prey. The print expresses the power they feel within or makes them feel armored against the power they may lack. Its impact is rooted in nature. It’s a vivid form of nonverbal communication.

Urban Dictionary is a completely informal source of definitions, intended to help keep up with ever-changing slang. Anyone can upload a word or a phrase and a definition for it, and readers vote on whether they concur with the definitions. It’s a sophisticated and millennial way of agreeing on the terms of communication, but it’s very much the Wild West version of a dictionary, much less carefully overseen than a traditional dictionary, or even Wikipedia. No authority denies its definitions. The site’s top two definitions for leopard print contradict each other: One implies that animal print accessories are the province of ladies of the evening, a flattering assertion, though not accurate; plenty of sex workers get along without it, while people in just about every job often have a touch of it somewhere in their wardrobe. A completely different take on the meaning follows immediately thereafter—that being the nature of the Internet—claiming that leopard print is the pattern of “a single or divorced woman 35–55, intelligent, successful . . . far, far classier than the trashy ‘cougar.’” (See Chapter Nine for more on “cougars.”) So, according to the ultra-fresh culture of Urban Dictionary, leopard print is a marker of either sex work or/and mature feminine sophistication. However, while sex workers and sophisticated older ladies certainly have made their imprints on fashion over the years, there are people in every walk of life who wear the pattern, so it’s not truly a reasonable indicator of one’s job or age. Not satisfied with such a narrow definition, this author had her way with it. As of this writing, Urban Dictionary’s top definition is “a pattern that helps animals blend in and humans stand out.” Whether the phrase is formally accepted into the dictionary or not, one thing is certain: Leopard print is not going anywhere. The pattern packs too powerful a punch to the eye. Everyone—from the most prestigious designers in the world to the most affordable chain stores—acknowledges the print’s unique value. One fashion designer after another claims it as their “signature print,” and it certainly is a signifier. Popular memes declare that “leopard print goes with everything” and that it’s a neutral. Though technically true, since the term “neutral” often refers to shades of brown and black, it is clearly a controversial neutral.

The human pupil dilates at the sight of a predator, a primal physical response that’s similar for both fear and arousal. Leopard print evolved in nature to help the cats fade into their surroundings as they survey their prey. Through the alchemy of fashion, it both retains its power and tweaks its origins. People who wear leopard print aren’t afraid to make themselves visible. They wear it to stand out, not to blend in. They wear it to feel cultured and to simultaneously make a connection to nature. They wear it to entertain, to draw attention, to be noticed. They wear it to appear seductive, purposeful, luxurious, dangerous, and playful. It evokes both nocturnal intimacy and the lush outdoors. It refers to both the danger and innocence of nature. People speak of it with delight or disgust, but no one can simply ignore it.

A group of models poses luxuriously in leopard print, 1953. The faceless man in the background holds a whip, but he clearly doesn’t have a hope of mastering these ferocious women.

Eliot Elisofon / The LIFE Picture Collection / Getty Images.

Importantly, the phrase often also applies to patterns other than that of the actual leopard, including those for the snow leopard, clouded leopard, jaguar, ocelot, lynx, bobcat, and sometimes even tiger. For the purposes of this book, however, we will refer to all big-cat patterns—whether printed, woven into fabric, embroidered, painted, and even on genuine fur—as “leopard print,” because the phrase is used that way in popular culture and media. Even more specifically, we will look at how these patterns have been employed in garments, particularly, though not solely, those worn by women.

In spite of the dictionary failing us, observing how leopard patterns have been worn tells us that leopard print is much, much more than the pattern of a leopard pelt imprinted onto fabric. The combination of “leopard” and “print” creates a whole far greater than the sum of its parts. The crowd-sourced definitions from Wikipedia, the potent feminine implications suggested at Urban Dictionary, and the mix of patterns found in the marketplace indicate an identity sought by the wearer as well as a cultural imperative around the phrase “leopard print.” It has an impact and a meaning beyond both its literal and figurative definitions. Over the past century, it has become more than merely the description of a pattern, but the name of a marketing term (used to call attention to patterns with which it is often confused), a fashion phenomenon, and a signifier of some kind of coded female presentation.

Leopard print has become associated with taking pleasure in makeup and dress.

Subbotina Anna / Adobe Stock.

The way we wear the print these days in popular Western fashion hasn’t always had this impact, and people haven’t always had the freedom to wear it as they do now. How did this pattern come to have so many meanings? What is the origin of this phenomenon? What does it say about the culture in which this occurs and those who wear it? And who wore it first?

Who Wore It First?

I COPIED THE DRESS OF AN ANIMAL BECAUSE I LOVE TO COPY GOD. I THINK GOD IS THE MOST FANTASTIC DESIGNER.

—Roberto Cavalli

Leopards have always worn leopard print. It was nature before it was culture. An Internet image search for “leopard print” reveals a variety of patterns. The spots may be solid or have a gold center; they may be small dots encircled by larger dots; they may be elongated; they may even be gray. Some of these patterns are leopard print, and some aren’t. The leopard may be the most recognized spotted cat, but it is far from being the only one.

Among the prints called leopard are the patterns of other equally fabulous felines, such as cheetahs, jaguars, and ocelots. They are the fashion leaders for the phenomenon of leopard print. Their beauty, along with their power, adaptability, and ferociousness set a standard well worth emulating. Humans, as the only animal to cover its skin, look to nature to inspire culture. The wearers of these prints show their intention to be brave and powerful and the choice to wear the pattern of ferocious felines makes a clear...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction: Catwoman Comes Alive
• 1. What Is Leopard Print?
• 2. Who Wore It First?
• 3. Fit for a Goddess
• 4. Machinery & Modern Women
• 5. Femmes Fatales & Fashion Shows
• 6. Haute Cat-oure
• 7. Boudoirs, Bombshells & Bikinis
• 8. The Trophy Wife
• 9. The Bad Mother
• 10. Fun Fur
• 11. I Want My Leopard Print
• 12. Supermodels & Stripteasers
• 13. Spotted Everywhere
• 14. #Leopardprint
• Keep the World Fierce
• Reading List
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• Copyright
• About the Publisher