Animal trend gets up-close and personal
Aqua cashmere sweaters come in an elephant intarsia print (also giraffe); $198 at select Bloomingdale's and bloomingdales.com. Credit: Handout
Katy Perry's "Roar" single and video, with her prancing around the jungle, giving elephants pedicures, taking selfies with monkeys, was well timed. It dropped a few months ago, just as fall collections hit stores, revealing a zoo's worth of animal prints.
We don't mean zebra stripes or leopard spots -- although those are out there. We're talking animal faces, all up-close and personal.
The trend has been building over the past two years, as prestigious brands began bearing fangs -- Givenchy (with Rottweilers), Kenzo (tigers), Burberry Prorsum (owls).
This season, Ralph Lauren got in on the animal action by reviving his beloved Polo Bear sweaters. First introduced in 1991, the cuddly knits were inspired by a fave birthday gift he'd received from staffers -- a teddy bear dressed a la Ralph. The current edition is the first of his "Bring It Back" program, in which fans get to vote on vintage styles for the brand to reproduce.
His bears will feel right at home with Stella McCartney's lion tees and French Connection's tiger sweaters.
Yes, that's right -- lions and tigers and.... Well, you get the point.
