Modish Moggies: The cossetted cat is fashion’s latest muse

From social media mavens to starring roles in Vogue, it looks as though fashion’s feline friend is here to stay writes Sarah Young

Stella McCartney Pre-Fall 2016 look book featuring Perla the Persian

While being dubbed a cat lady used to bear an air of denunciation nowadays the term suggests that you’re a fully-fledged member of fashion’s newest club. The rise of the fashion cat lady has been simmering for a while but with designers pre-fall and autumn/winter collections paying homage to their furry friends, cats have become the essential fashion accessory for 2016.

There is no more famous feline than Karl Lagerfeld’s beloved Choupette who, with more than 86,000 Instagram followers, is front and centre of the fashion world. With a collection of custom-made Louis Vuitton bags, a book and a makeup line with Shu Uemera under her belt, the pampered pet is the furry face of an emerging trend that doesn’t seem to be slowing down.

Gucci Autumn Winter 2016 (AFP/Getty Images)

Since Mui Mui’s spring/summer 2010 cat collection and Charlotte Olympia’s kitty slippers, the trend has gone beyond commercial; these days it’s simply a feline fact. If you don’t own a cat, or any cat strewn prints, are you even fashionable? Right now, the industry says no. Stella McCartney’s pre-fall collection featured an array of kitschy cat-portrait garbs, from a wearable wrap skirt to a hand-illustrated silk dress; she even hired Perla the Persian to co-star in the look book.

Loewe Autumn Winter 2016

For autumn/winter the trend continues with the likes of Dolce & Gabbana, Chanel, Loewe and Dries Van Noten heralding cats as their bona fide fashion muse. From emoji motifs and Bengal print to leopard laden suits and cat bust jewellery, wearing your love for your feline friends on your sleeve is seriously en vogue. This is no passing fad either, with plenty of Resort 2017 shows swapping out animal print in favour of cats, both big and small; think Gucci’s multi-coloured sweatshirts or Marc Jacobs’ laser cat tees. The reasoning behind the industry’s fixation is dubious but I wonder if there is something that lures fashion’s elite to cats? They’re inherently street-wise, elegant and wilfully ascendant; sound like anyone you know?