Kylie Jenner finally revealed her almost-1-year-old son’s name over the weekend, introducing her hundreds of millions of social media followers to baby Aire. The name reportedly means “Lion of God,” and the 25-year-old fashionista seemed to be leaning hard into that theme with a big-cat look that was definitely turning heads. While attending the Schiaparelli haute couture show in Paris, the youngest KarJenner sibling sported a black velvet dress from the designer, and it featured a huge faux lion head sewn to the front. Suffice it to say, fans had some differing opinions about the choice.
The reality TV star was giving Big Leo Energy at Paris Fashion Week, sharing a number of pictures of her Schiaparelli gown to Instagram and in her Stories:
It’s a bold look to be sure, with the king of the jungle piece taking up space on the star's entire torso. Even though the makeup mogul specified in her post that the realistic-looking lion’s head was created from man-made materials, some Twitter users still seemed to think that big mouth was capable of taking a chunk out of passers-by, with one saying:
Kylie Jenner…that lion’s head is too photorealistic for my comfort
Several others on her Instagram post commented that even though the lion’s head was not real, her decision to wear something that looked so authentic still promoted cruelty to the animal. Those comments included:
- Clearly is isn’t a real lions head or at least I hope it wouldn’t be but as a person very much in the public eye this was a very stupid thing to do as it’s practically glamorising animal cruelty –oxo_helen_oxo
- I love how she was very conscious of mentioning it was faux and made of man made materials but the whole idea of wearing an animals head on her chest went over her head. – daisofmylife
- This is highly inappropriate, prop or not this should never have been designed – jessmartine
Kylie Jenner posted another snapshot from the fashion show, which shows the lion's head in plain sight. You can see it down below:
Despite the criticism, other followers on social media recognized the dress as a work of art. One noted that the realism of the lion’s head spoke to the quality of Schiaparelli’s work, tweeting that good art always causes an “uproar” (pun intended by the writer):
The amount of sustainable / vegan fashion commentators in uproar because they think Schiaparelli’s lion, snow leopard & wolf heads are REAL tells you everything you need to know about Daniel Roseberry’s dedication to craftsmanship. Each piece was hand sculpted & hand embroidered
Others on Instagram defended the use of a fake lion head, saying it’s no different than people wearing animal print or allowing their children to carry around stuffed animals. Those comments included:
- But Animal Print is okay or what? Come on People.. 🤦🏻♀️ you always find something to complain about – adri_anax3
- People are sensitive. This is faux.. Y’all act like your kids ain’t carrying stuffed animals around. Wouldn’t it also be considered “promoting animal hunting” lmao same energy y’all. Stop hating on strangers. Let humans be! – nancy_ochoaa
- Y’all over here acting like you’ve never worn animal print “Animals aren’t fashion “ Or eat meat and those “vegetarians/vegans” who dont eat Vegetables turned into a meat flavored item 😂! Enjoy the faux lion and go hug that Stuffed ANIMAL you have! (stuffed ANIMAL) 😂 – tita_hndz94
There was so much discussion about whether or not it was irresponsible for Kylie Jenner to adorn a lion’s head on her entire upper body, one commenter seemed to think everyone was missing the point, with @jumping_bean10 saying about the Instagram post:
Y’all say it’s 🔥🔥 but if you saw someone walking around Walmart wearing this you would laugh at them.
Truer words were never spoken. Hopefully when The Kardashians returns to Hulu for Season 3, we’ll see more of Kylie Jenner’s “Lion of God” Aire and maybe not as much of the photorealistic big cat heads. Keep an eye on the 2023 TV schedule for that premiere date and, in the meantime, you can catch up on the first two seasons of Kim Kardashian and her family’s reality show with a Hulu subscription.
