Schiaparelli show, Irina Shayk responds to criticism of cat-headed dresses

The Parade of Discord. Schiaparelli presented her haute couture collection during Paris Fashion Week on Monday, January 23, 2023. Guest Kylie Jenner arrived at the show in a look that garnered plenty of commentary: an embellished black velvet dress of a false lion’s head, larger than life. Look then presented by top model Irina Shayk on the “catwalk”. Raising awareness for the animal cause or clumsy message? The voices have since risen to give their opinion on the controversy.

The Schiaparelli house presented its “Inferno” collection, inspired by the three books of Dante’s “Divine Comedy”: Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. The animal heads were, as the creator indicates on his Instagram account, linked to the symbolism of the poem: “The leopard, the lion and the wolf, which represent lust, pride and greed in the allegory of Dante, are hand-sculpted in foam, resin, wool and faux silk fur, and hand-painted to be as realistic as possible.

“I support these incredible artists”

Two camps are emerging with regard to the outfits presented by the brand. On the one hand, some defend the initiative, including the top Irina Shayk. parade star, she wore the same outfit as Kylie Jenner. “I support these incredible artists who have worked tirelessly, with their hands, using wool, silk and moss, to sculpt this embroidered lion, and this image of pride, an image that Schiaparelli invokes while exploring themes of strength. I am honored to have been called upon to lend my art as a woman to this project,” she wrote on her Instagram account.

Activist and president of PETA (For Ethics in the Treatment of Animals), Ingrid Newkirk, wanted to speak on the subject to the magazine “Page Six“: “The looks of Kylie, Naomi [Campbell, NDLR] and Irina celebrate the beauty of wild animals and can be a statement against trophy hunting, in which lions and wolves are torn apart to satisfy human selfishness.”

A speech to which the model Shalom Harlow seems to adhere, who paraded Monday with a dress embellished with a false head of a snow leopard. She has indeed taken over her Instagram account to relay the publication of the association. Also from the parade, Naomi Campbell has not yet reacted.

“Schiaparelli’s assertion […] is objectively false”

For its part, PETA France takes a different view: “Although art, including fashion, can be subjective, Schiaparelli’s assertion that “no animals were harmed” during the making of this dress lion head worn by Kylie Jenner is objectively false” shared the association before detailing in a press release the process that may have harmed animal welfare.

Some personalities have not failed to comment on their side the controversy on social networks. Because although the message seems to be the sublimation of felines, the creations are singled out as exposing the animals like hunting trophies. A staging that therefore does not please defenders of the animal cause.