When fashion goes feral All the paws of Fashion Week Men's SS24

Paws, clogs, and claws; never before has fashion loved the animalier look, quite literally. Following in the footsteps of the Tabi designed by Martin Margiela in 1988 - which, however, also looked back to 15th-century Japanese culture - numerous new footwear proposals sent down the catwalk during the latest fashion weeks take inspiration from the somewhat ridiculous shape of animal paws, triggering a real split in thinking among the fans of the sector: on the one hand the followers of new trends, always ready to recognize in a new look its potential, and on the other hand the objectors of anything that tries to challenge conventions, supporters of traditionalism even in a creative field like fashion. Despite the criticism of the latter, there have been so many brands that have brought shoes with a beastly silhouette to the catwalk, however, that it will be almost impossible for the furry-chic aesthetic not to become a trend in its own right - and perhaps it already is. 

JW Anderson 

At Louis Vuitton, the bear paws were far tamer than Charles Jeffrey's, soft plush slippers whose soles imitated the imprint of an ursid, also logged and echoed on the palms of a pair of gloves. After all, the title of the collection was LVers, what could be more adorable than a teddy bear? In short, from Milan to Paris it was two weeks of animal transformation; who knows if couture will follow in the same footsteps, literally. Looking back, in fact, Daniel Rosberry had also done the same in his Schiaparelli couture show last January, when he had animal heads on the Parisian runway that, in the American designer's intentions, were meant to pay homage to Dante's The Divine Comedy. A choice that at the time, of course, had not failed to generate controversy.