Feline Fashion: The Black Cat as Muse
Daisy looks to our feline companion for inspiration in her latest THREADS article on fashion muses…
Fashion has long taken inspiration from the natural world around us: from beautiful petals to deep sea scales and velveteen butterfly wings; whether in the literal use of feathers and fur, or the symbolic use of colours and shapes vivid enough to only be found in nature.
With it being spooky season, alongside a flurry of TikToks popping up on my FYP about black cat girlfriends with their golden retriever boyfriends, and the multiple Choupette fits on this year’s Met Gala carpet — cats, especially black cats, have been on my mind. Despised by some as an omen of looming bad luck, and adored by others as a chic accessory, is the black cat the ultimate fashion icon?
On the Catwalk
Even in the name: catwalk, you find the first sign of our industry’s obsession with cats’ unnerving perfection — their delicate saunters and aloof attitude something even the most prestigious supermodels aspire to imitate. In 2023, we saw big cats on the SS23 Schiaparelli SS23 runway, and the aforementioned references to the adored white cat Choupette of the late Karl Lagerfeld at the most fashionable event of the year.
And looking back at past runways from some of the biggest names in fashion, I’m reminded of more cat references — both subtle and playfully obvious — with the latter being most perfectly embodied in Mugler’s AW82 collection sporting models in fur-trimmed skirt suits and cat-eared hats, trotting down the runway like the most glamorous cats you’ve ever seen.
More recently, Gucci’s 2016 pre-fall collection also featured adorable knitted cats on sweaters, and Miu Miu has frequently added feline motifs into their garments; even in the world of advertising, Dior once used René Gruau’s drawings of black cats to illustrate the “sweetness of a caress” from a pair of their hosiery in 1959 which brings us to the second litterbed for cats in fashion: not as a design inspiration, but as an accessory all of their own.
Cats in High Places
The smooth curves, glossy fur and swift movements do make cats a beautiful, timeless inspiration for feminine design. But it’s their snooty indifference that makes them stars. Cats carry mystique and pride in a way that dogs, by contrast, just don’t. And appearing as famous companions to some of the most stylish people on the planet has secured their position as style icons in their own right.
Of course, we have Karl Lagerfeld championing Choupette everywhere he went. But we also have a host of Vogue editors from USA’s Grace Coddington to the UK’s Francesca Burns sharing their adoration of cats. Cats even appear in some of the most iconic films and photos of our time. See ‘Cat’ star alongside Audrey Hepburn in 1961’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s, as well as the many little felines in too many fashion campaigns to count from Miu Miu’s eau de parfum ads to Clare Waight Keller’s creative debut at the helm of Givenchy with the AW17 campaign — literal cats, many of them black, have proven time and time again to be the preferred supporting acts of fashion’s elite.
Extending our gaze outside of fashion to the art that so often inspires it, again we find studies upon studies of the domesticated prima donna. Some made in reverence, like the statues and paintings of the ancient Egyptians who viewed cats as the earthly manifestation of godliness and the loyalty and power therein. Others in superstition, like the Japanese red-eared Maneki-neko cat figure you’ve likely seen waving on the counter tops of local shops as a sign of good luck.
Between the Mona Lisa and pioneering mathematical discoveries, Da Vinci’s oeuvre also includes multiple sketches of cats, and Andy Warhol dedicated not one but two books of art about cats titled 25 Cats Name Sam and One Blue Pussy and Holy Cats By Andy Warhol’s Mother.
For all their rudeness, disinterest and sometimes chaotic weirdness, one thing that cannot be questioned is that cats have captured our hearts. For many like myself, their unpredictable, do-as-I-please attitude is what we love best about them, an attitude fashion has favoured in its muses since time immemorial — cat or human.
For some of course, the black cat in particular is a symbol of bad luck, with black cats actually ending up in shelter much more often than their multi-coloured siblings because of this superstition. But in fashion as in art — aren’t we intrigued by the dark horses and underdogs most of all?
The Cats Whiskers
Cats should never really be seen as an accessory — they’re pretty amazing animals, with much more to offer than an air of glamorous mystique. But hey, since when did fashion care about the living things behind our work?
credits
words — daisy riley
illustration — freepik
design — karina so.