Welcome to the year of the monkey! Admittedly, we’re ringing it in a little early (Chinese lunar new year doesn’t fall until February 8), but given fashion’s long-standing love of the animal, you could hardly fault us. Consider Wallis Simpson’s famous gown, custom-made by friend Hubert de Givenchy in 1954, a soigné vision in white with wool monkey embroidery all over. Or on the opposite end of the spectrum, Julius, the smiling cartoon simian dreamed up by Paul Frank and popularized on T-shirts, accessories, and knickknacks the world over during the brand’s early-aughts heyday.
In recent years, apes have become something of a catwalk mainstay: Valentino’s Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli divined them into couture confections, while Christopher Kane’s 2009 gorillas made for a street style smash. All this makes a certain amount of sense, perhaps; per the Chinese zodiac, those born in the year of the monkey are mischievous, clever, and even a bit irreverent—just like fashion at its finest, we might venture. See 14 of our favorite takes in the slideshow below.
The post Ring in the Year of the Monkey With These Stylish Simians appeared first on Vogue.