Paris Fashion Week started with a bang. Kylie Jenner arrived at the first show of the season with a lion head on her shoulder, which looked very real.
Schiaparelli's dress, which also appeared on the catwalk, was made of "foam, wool and faux silk, and hand-painted to look as lifelike as possible," the brand said on Instagram.
To make things perfectly clear, Schiaparelli added, in capital letters: "NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED TO MAKE THIS DRESS."
But this did not stop people from bursting into criticism. "We must stop presenting animals as luxury 'products'. They can be made of foam, but these are endangered species that have historically been killed for their skins to be turned into clothing."
However, not all animal rights activists were alarmed by the lion. The president of Peta, an animal protection organization, told TMZ that the collection of three-dimensional animal heads was "very innovative" and "could be a statement against hunting, where lions are dismembered to satisfy human selfishness."
Other animal designs appeared in Schiaparelli's collection, one with a wolf's head and another with a leopard.