The Leopard Print Revival Is Upon Us
Between Wales Bonner’s ultra-hot Adidas Sambas and Michael Kors’s entire spring 2024 front row, it was a great year for leopard print. With the Indie Sleaze revival on the horizon, the proliferation of animal print is a major sign of its second coming. But the leopard print craze didn’t start with the party girls of the 2010s. (In fact, it was worn in both iterations of the movie Party Girl, starring Cyd Charisse in 1958 and Parker Posey in 1995.) And the spots have found fans as far flung as Queen Elizabeth, Jackie Kennedy, Audrey Hepburn, and later on, Kate Moss and the Spice Girls’ Mel B.
Still, leopard print can be a daunting addition to a wardrobe, especially if one is pivoting from the minimalist aesthetic we’ve been seeing the past few seasons. Thankfully, we can look to the stars for some styling tips.
Cyd Charisse in Party Girl (1958)
Courtesy Everett Collection
Parker Posey in Party Girl (1995)
(c)First Look Pictures/courtesy Everett Collection
Mel C
Photo: © Virgin Records
2023 saw no shortage of stars rocking leopard print. Some preferred a lighter touch, using a sparing splashh of print to add a kick to their outfits. Kourtney Kardashian, in the purest indie sleaze interpretation of them all, leaned into kitsch, wearing her leopard print shorts with a Madonna T-shirt and trendy moto boots. Her sister, Kendall Jenner, however, opted for a subtler leopard print on her coat collar.
Some chose to use one leopard print piece as an accent, often pairing it with black to amplify the impact. Selma Blair, Maya Hawke, and Rosamund Pike all subscribed to this method this year, adding animal patterned jackets, blouses, and skirts, to their otherwise-all-black outfits.
