French haute couture fashion house Schiaparelli has presented its latest collection at Paris Couture Week, which saw faux taxidermied lion, wolf and leopard heads hand-crafted into three gowns.
The Schiaparelli show, which took place at the Petit Palais on 23 January, kicked off Paris Couture Week and was informed by the poem Inferno ? the first part of the three-book poem Divine Comedy by the 13th-century Italian poet Dante Alighieri.
Schiaparelli's haute couture show took place during Paris Couture Week
Three of the dresses that appeared on the catwalk looked as though they were constructed from the taxidermied bodies of a lion, snow leopard and black wolf.
Despite their hyper-realistic appearance, each of the busts as well as their accompanying dresses were made from hand-sculpted foam, silk faux fur, resin and wool and hand-painted to achieve a life-like look. The faux animal heads were made from silk, foam, resin and wool
"Nothing is as it appears to be in Schiaparelli's Inferno Couture," said Schiaparelli, hinting at the faux nature of the life-size animal busts and fur garments.
The first of the three animal-clad dresses to emerge from behind the interior walls of the 20th-century museum was a bustier leopard dress adorned with the handcrafted head of a snow leopard at its chest.
The collection referenced Dante's Inferno
A second gown that followed shortly after had a more pared-down aesthetic and was made from floor-length velvet, with a lion's head embroi...