Question: Is Animal Print in Fashion for 2025? Answer: It’s Complicated

Is Animal Print in Fashion for 2025?

A while back I made the claim that animal print is out, as far as trends go. It is still being used somewhat on the Fall 2025 runways and I’m still seeing people wearing it in street style photos, but in terms of it being an actual trend, I stick to my original claim that animal print is out: it’s not a trend to buy into. It would seem though that designers and brands aren’t ready to get rid of animal print as a concept completely just yet – animal print has evolved into something else, so if you were to ask me “Is animal print in fashion for 2025?” I’d have to say, “It’s complicated.”

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What’s Replacing Animal Print?

I first noticed this replacement to animal print in the Spring 2025 collections: abstract animal print. The spots of leopard print get blurred and smudged at Maison Mihara Yasuhiro, zebra print at Collina Strada takes on a psychedelic vibe, and at Dries Van Noten fawn print spots are distorted and recolored.

Maison Mihara Yasuhiro Spring 2025 Menswear [Paris] Creative Direction: Mihara Yasuhiro; Photo: Courtesy of Maison Mihara Yasuhiro

Collina Strada Spring 2025 [New York] Creative Direction: Hillary Taymour; Photo: Courtesy of Collina Strada

Dries Van Noten Spring 2025 [Paris] Creative Direction: Design Studio; Photo: NOWFASHION.com

For Pre-Fall 2025, Baum und Pferdgarten used a print reminiscent of zebra print – this particular print was popular around the year 2000, when colored snakeskin prints were also popular.

Baum und Pferdgarten Pre-Fall 2025 [Copenhagen] Creative Direction: Rikke Baumgarten and Helle Hestehave; Photos: Courtesy of Baum und Pferdgarten

Abstract Animal Print in Fall 2025

The use of abstract animal print has continued into Fall 2025 and although we are just at the start of the ready to wear shows (Day 4 of New York Fashion Week to be precise, with Milan, London and Paris still to go), there are already more examples of the print: at Munthe, leopard print fur coats lose their spots while zebra print is reimagined in a dizzying pattern, a distorted leopard print appears at Collina Strada, and at Brandon Maxwell there is a blurry fawn print with a brushstroke effect, along with a coat in an abstract animal print.

Munthe Fall 2025

Munthe Fall 2025 [Copenhagen] Creative Direction: Naja Munthe; Photos: James Cochrane for CPHFW

Collina Strada Fall 2025

Collina Strada Fall 2025 [New York] Creative Direction: Hillary Taymour; Photos: Alessandro Viero on behalf of GoRunway; Courtesy of Collina Strada

Brandon Maxwell Fall 2025

Brandon Maxwell Fall 2025 [New York] Creative Direction: Brandon Maxwell; Photos: Courtesy of Brandon Maxwell

A Natural Evolution + Further Ideas for Abstraction

A lot of fashion trends are an evolution from one to the other, and this in particular is one of those instances: abstracting the original animal print is resulting in a fresh and modern take on a classic print. The examples above can serve as a stepping stone for inspiration, but other abstractions are possible too.

Glitch or pixel effects for a modern, techy feel, or stretching and swirling animal prints for a psychedelic appearance. An animal print could be enlarged to a macro print, or it could be broken up into the geometric shapes that it is made up of (think of the different pieces that make up a leopard’s spots or the irregular squares of giraffe print). Colors can also be used in modernizing animal print: monochrome, neon, and other unexpected colors will further abstract the print.

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