Within fashion there are trends that shine quick and bright then are hated two months later. Then there is the timeless trends, the ones that always work no matter when they pop back into the timeline. They evoke different emotions. One trend that people loath or love is the leopard print. This print evokes a reaction. From it’s arousing, sophistication or possibly trashy and trampy reputation.

The leopard itself is a large carnivorous predator, in the big cat family. They are extremely graceful and just like it’s close relations, the lions, jaguars and tigers, it is beautiful. However, it’s their spotted print that has wrapped itself around the world, booming in popularity the last year. But it is engrained in fashion history, dating back as early as the Egyptians, where an Egyptian princess is depicted wearing a leopard gown on an Egyptian stele.

It was not until the 1920s, with popular stars like Josephine Baker helping to make this print a sign of luxury and status, that leopard print was properly introduced in fashion. Flapper girls also loved real animal print fur coats. This coat highlighted you as a woman of expensive taste and these fur coats are still extremely popular today. However, faux is most accessible as killing animals for their skin is no longer socially acceptable. The Roaring 20s woman was a powerhouse of sensuality and fun, yet often were bashed by others for having this ‘let loose’ attitude. This mentality is engrained in the leopard print essence.

In 1947 Christian Dior adapted the print for his Spring/Summer 1947 collection and the trend flourished. Especially from the 1960s and onwards with matching accessories, coats and bottoms being available. Today, respectable fashion houses such as Versace, Yves Saint Laurent, all put various colours and layers of leopard print down the runway. High-street brands also sell items of the trendy print at a cheaper price, even going into our homeware, bedding, slippers and so on.

Arguably we get aroused and excited by leopard print, as much as people might think nothing of it, we have physical reactions to things without even realising. Jo Weldon, author of 2018 book ‘Fierce: The History of Leopard print’, points out that many people’s pupils dilate when they see the print.

“It’s the same kind of dilation that you see in both arousal and fear,” she says. “Scientists have called it the ‘misattribution of arousal’ when you see something you’re afraid of and you have the same physical sensations and you associate it with arousal or excitement and not just fear.”

This is potentially what draws so many people into the print, we unconsciously associate it with sex appeal. However, the leopard print has an ever-changing reputation due to this. It can be regarded as expensive, sensual, and powerful but then on the other hand can be seen as cheap, tarty and crass.

The majority of the British public will know who Kat Slater is. She is a classic character on the British soap ‘EastEnders’ most likely to be shouting on the streets wearing leopard print upon leopard print. Her character is meant to be a sultry, loudmouth. For example, one of her well-known scenes is where she yells “I became a total slag!”. Yet you grow to love her as a viewer. Her trashiness is meant to be shown through her costume and she is rarely seen without her leopard print coat, showing how the print can be used with negative connotations.

However, you then have acclaimed American singer Beyoncé in her 2020 film ‘Black is King’ perched upon a leopard print car, in a skin-tight leopard print leotard, surrounded by men in matching leopard print suits. This image grabs you in, you can feel how expensive it is and how Beyoncé is portraying power. This is fashion’s biggest contradiction, is leopard tacky or trendy?

The reason leopard print is a constant trend is because it arguably suits every person, compliments every skin tone and can be dressed up or down easily. At the end of the day, every human wants to feel confident in what they wear and leopard print allows you to do this. Just like how a leopard is seen as beautiful and strong, humans have a thought process that they will gain these attributes when the print is worn. Whether you think it is tacky or trendy depends on your unconscious thoughts, but no matter what it is a tool of confidence.  

Fashion is psychological, it has to be to work. The whole industry works around the idea of how consumers will react to a certain colour, fabric, shape etc. To explain, fashion psychology is the study of fashion against human behaviour, which is greatly important.

A pyjama day never feels as good as the thought. The grogginess of sleep weighing you down in your clothes, but when you get washed and changed it feels uplifting. The excitement of finally wearing the dress you have been saving for the right occasion, the way if something does not fit slightly right it can ruin your whole day. Your brain reacts to what you wear without you even realising.

So, this brings in the question, can we dress ourselves happy?

Dopamine dressing is the idea that considering colour and fun elements when you get dressed can lift your mood. People may think this concept is crazy, how would a piece of fabric impact your mood so much? I think society often forget that they are just humans with a body and mind of their own. We are not going to understand everything, this is why you should look at yourself and your clothes as a relationship.

Fashion Psychologist Dawnn Karen author of Dress Your Best Life goes as far to prescribe people certain elements. In an article by Rosana Lai for Hong Kong Tatler, Karen states that she prescribed wearing the colour yellow in every outfit for a physician who, at the time was treating COVID-19 patients, and was feeling extremely depressed. “Within days it brightened her mood,” this is bizarre on first read but it makes sense.

Yellow is a ‘happy colour’, would wearing this act as a reminder to remember things will be okay? Now, each colour holds its own connotations and depending where you are from this could change too. Black is for mourning in Britain but then white is in China, so arguably a wardrobe full of black would be more depressing for someone in Britain than in China. Red is quite a sultry and dangerous colour, so this colour surely would make you feel more confident and attractive. Each colour holds its own thoughts for each individual, but I believe true ‘dopamine dressing’ goes further than colour.

It is a common thought that “you should wear your clothes, not them wear you,” and it’s assumed this is meant about sizing and fit but what if it has deeper meaning than that? What if it’s due to the emotions you gain from an outfit? Say if you chose to wear an outfit and then spend the whole day regretting it. This is letting the clothes wear you, dictate how you feel.

When you get dressed, you should be having a thought process. Asking yourself about does this colour make me happy? Is this pattern is satisfying to look at? Does this fabric feel nice? All these questions make a relationship between yourself and the clothes, leading to you wearing the clothes not them wearing you. We have all been walking past a reflection in a rush, caught a glimpse of ourselves and then felt bad, but maybe if we wore uplifting clothing due to this thought process, this would not be such a dreaded interaction.

If you have ever watched Tidying Up with Marie Kondo on Netflix you have surely grown to love her. Her specific tidying technique makes people reflect when they go through their houses and ask the almighty question “Does this spark joy?” about each item. This is what we should be doing when we shop and when we get dressed.

In a way, we are what we wear. If you wear something you don’t feel comfortable in then this will be picked up by others. Just like how if you feel comfortable you’ll feel more confident. Clothing is just another body language, In the words of renowned writer Virgina Woolf clothes can “change our view of the world and the world’s view of ourselves.” So, when you get dressed ask yourself if it sparks joy. Evaluate how certain colours and fabrics make you feel. Everyone desires confidence and this often comes hand in hand with happiness.  

The beginning of the late 1960s saw a new wave of beat-driven dance music. This was disco, the name deriving from French word discotheque. At first disco music found popularity in underground clubs, where DJs would play the music for their mostly African American, gay and Latino audiences. The popularity rose in the mid-70s and was a main attraction within a widespread of clubs, then even began playing on the radios.

Within the clubs the heavy electric bass line and steady beat of disco music would be loud, along with flashy lights and bold colours filling the space. Dancing was influential in past decades however, disco brought on a change. Before women and men could only dance together, which sounds absurd. But due to wanting to focus on the DJ’s music, individuals would go on the dancefloor solo, having freedom in their expression of dance and being part of a crowd.

People found a home in disco as it was a place for minorities to be who they truly are and to feel free doing so. No matter if you were LGBTQ+, African American, Latino and so on, this did not matter, you could find a home in disco, even in you faced prejudice in everyday society.

In 2020 when the world is full of uncertainty, crowds can’t meet and we’re constrained to our houses, it’s difficult to obtain this feel-good attitude that disco adopted. Especially with the absence of clubs, parties and dancing. However, this is why it’s so needed. There’s a desperate need for reassurance. Society needs a lift and today’s leading pop girls of the industry are helping to do that.

English singer, Dua Lipa released her second studio album Future Nostalgia, while it was announced at the start of the year it sadly got released during lockdown. Although, parties can't currently happen the disco inspired songs still manage to transport you to the club in your mind. Her music videos kept with this inspiration, they were full of dancing, glittery dresses and lively colours. Even releasing a remix album titled Club Future Nostalgia alongside, this featured remixes and collaborations from Madonna, Missy Elliot and Gwen Stefani.   

ABOVE: LEFT IS DUA LIPA'S STUDIO 2054 AND RIGHT IS DOJA CAT'S SAY SO MV

She went as far as to show us we can still have the disco fun from our houses, holding a virtual concert titled Studio 2054. This was inspired by Studio 54, which was a legendary disco nightclub. Lipa had physical guest appearances from FKA Twigs and Kylie Minogue. However, digitally had Elton John and Bad Bunny perform. Her outfits were spectacular for the event keeping with the disco theme, skin-tight and dripping in sequins and glitter. Overall, she gathered 5 million worldwide viewers, transporting them from their homes into a parallel world that has no pandemic and is just full of disco.

Studio 54 acted as a safe space for communities. This was the must go to club of the 1960s, celebrities from Diana Ross to Bianca Jagger, who famously strolled in on a white horse, would attend. Queues went for miles to get in and although it was initially a scene for minorities there would still be white, heterosexual suburban Americans who would attend as it was seen as sophisticated and the must place to be. The atmosphere was ethereal, like a weight was lifted off everyone there. Due to this there was a huge sex and drug atmosphere inside.

Arguably you could live whatever identity you wanted. People would express themselves through their clothes, with glamour and drama. Extravagance and flamboyance were a must within disco, dancers often painting themselves or covering themselves in glitter. Today the disco subculture may be an amazing party costume but the clothing from this time has left an impact people may not realise. For instance, trends that we constantly see reappear in our current society are wrap dresses, flared trousers, boob tubes and platform shoes, these are all from the 1970s disco era.

The SS20 collections also saw a return of the exaggerated collar, which was another huge characteristic of disco fashion. The collections in particular were Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Paco Rabbanne, apart the exaggeration of the collar the collection also featured metallic, heavily patterned and brightly coloured fabrics. This flamboyance was key to disco fashion as not only were the clubs and music an escape but the fashion too.

Another pop girl transporting us this year was American singer and rapper Doja Cat, with the music video release of her viral song Say So. It was in this video were she takes us to 70s L.A. in her slinky, sparkly backless dresses, where she lusts over her repairman. She later meets him again at a disco club where she channeled her Bianca Jagger and walks in with a tiger on a leash. Everyone breaks out in dance; the party carries on and the lights twinkle. This music video caught major attention due to the beautiful imagery.

The Say So dance went viral on TikTok, many dressing themselves up like they were going to the disco, even if they were just stood dancing to the phone camera in their bedroom. The way 2020 has gone people should do more of this. Put on Future Nostalgia, get glammed up, put your hot pants on and dance in your back garden. Disco brings a freeing feeling and this will never change, it acts as a medicine for the boredom and uncertainty that many of us will be feeling this year.