Kylie Jenner criticised by animal rights groups for wearing lion's head to Paris couture show

Reality TV star Kylie Jenner has caused an up-roar after appearing in a dress accessorised with an uber-realistic life-sized lion's head at Schiaparelli's couture catwalk show in Paris.

The wild accessory was pinned onto the shoulder of a black strapless dress as she took her front row seat at the legendary fashion house's label's spring-summer 2023 couture collection.Ms Jenner's lion's head - replete with fangs and bushy mane - was a preview of the collection, and was joined on the runway by other beasts' heads, including a wolf, modelled by Naomi Campbell, and a snow leopard.

But the surrealist mock animal heads have been criticised by some animal rights campaigners who say the accessory glamourise animal cruelty and are reminiscent of "trophy hunting".

According to British Vogue, the collection was inspired by Dante’s Inferno, but many believe the fake heads, which were made from foam resin and man-made materials, reassemble those seen hanging from the trophy room of big game hunters.

Four Paws UK, an animal welfare charity, tweeted: "It may be made of foam but this ‘lion head’ dress glamourises the use of animals in fashion. @KylieJenner this is one faux piece that is a faux pas. Why not make kind fashion aspirational, rather than normalise abject cruelty and dress it up as ‘luxury’?"

World Animal Protection US tweeted: "The shocking animal head designs at the Schiaparelli couture runway in Paris has ignited fierce online outcry. People are rightfully disturbed by the designs, which evoke the deeply cruel act of trophy hunting."

But animal rights charity PETA, said the beasts took a swipe at the absurdity of the use of fur and applauded Ms Jenner's faux look.Vice President of Programmes, Elisa Allen said: "These fabulously innovative three-dimensional animal heads show that where there’s a will, there’s a way—and Kylie’s look celebrates lions’ beauty and may be a statement against trophy hunting, in which lion families are torn apart to satisfy human egotism.

"Next up: PETA urges Kylie to extend this creativity to exclude sheep shorn bloody for wool and silkworms boiled alive in their cocoons. We encourage everyone to stick with 100% cruelty-free designs that showcase human ingenuity and prevent animal suffering." 

The dress also inspired some memes on social media, including one featuring Glenn Close as Cruella De Ville admiring herself in a fur coat with a big cat's head still attached.

Ms Jenner's appearance on the Paris front row came a day after she revealed she had named her son 11-month-old son Aire after previously deciding his original name of Wolf was not right for him.

The reality TV star, 25, and US rapper Travis Scott, 31, initially named their second child Wolf Webster but later said they had changed it as they “didn’t feel like it was him”.

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