A fashion house says no animals were harmed in the making of an ultra-realistic lion head dress seen on Kylie Jenner’s shoulder and on the Paris fashion week catwalk.
Jennifer arrived at Schiaparelli’s couture show in Paris wearing a dress from the designer’s collection adorned with a faux lion’s head.
The dress, designed by Schiaparelli, has drawn accusations of promoting animal cruelty and glorifying trophy hunting – but some animal rights activists have come out in favor of the collection.
An almost identical version of the dress was later modeled on the catwalk by Irina Shayk.
Dresses featuring a faux taxidermy snow leopard and a wolf modeled by Naomi Campbell were also seen in the show.
Schiaparelli posted a video of Jenner on Instagram, detailing the materials used to make the lion: “Hand sculpted foam, wool and silk faux fur…hand painted to look as realistic as possible.”
The brand added in all caps: “NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED WHILE CREATING THIS LOOK.”
But Carrie Johnson, animal rights activist and wife of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, called the designs “grim”, writing on Instagram: “Right or fake, this just promotes trophy hunting. Yuck. “
‘When we want we can’
However, animal rights charity PETA – which named Ms Johnson as its 2020 ‘Person of the Year’ – has spoken out in defense of the fake looks.
In a statement, PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk told Sky News: “Kylie’s look celebrates the beauty of lions and can be a statement against trophy hunting, in which families of lions are torn apart to satisfy the public. human selfishness.
“These fabulously innovative three-dimensional animal heads show that where there is a will, there is a way.”
Read more from Sky News:
Kylie Jenner reveals her son’s new name
Lizzo joins Harry Styles on Brits lineup as acts announced
Maxwell thinks Epstein was murdered
Kylie Jenner poses for a photo in the faux lion dress. Photo: AP
Despite PETA’s stance, many people expressed their distaste for Schiaparelli’s designs on the brand’s Instagram page.
One commenter wrote: “No matter how you justify it to your models and celebrities – animal faux couture is a huge problem with implications you don’t understand…Even if NO ANIMALS HAVE BEEN MALTED, the concept promotes the wearing of animals for fashion and a disgusting, disconnected mentality that the elite continue to suffer from.”
Another comment, which received thousands of likes, said: “We need to stop showing animals as a luxury
‘some products’. They can be made from moss, but they are endangered species that have historically been killed for their skins to be made into clothing. »
However, some have come to the defense of the brand, with some saying the designs were art and deliberately provocative.
One person wrote, “The whole point of haute couture is to be a performance art, a concept, shown on a person. It’s art, and the concept here is Dante’s inferno.”
Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week runs until Thursday, January 26. Schiaparelli’s controversial show kicked off the event on Tuesday.
