Tiger Stripes Are Destined to Be Fashion's Favorite Animal Print in 2026

I’ve been thinking about this one photo of Chloë Sevigny a lot lately. The actress is at the premiere of Trees Lounge, a 1996 dark-humor indie film directed by and starring Steve Buscemi (she plays a precocious teen with a pixie cut), wearing a sparkly black dress and electric orange tiger-striped tights.

I first saw it on Tumblr fifteen years ago (shocker, I know). Like the great hook of a pop song imprints on your brain, the outfit stuck with me. Lately, it's come back up in my fashion consciousness because I know, deep in my fashion editor bones, that tiger prints are going to be a major trend in 2026. Cue Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger”.

She could've picked the safe bet of a black tight, or even a pale pink or cherry red, to wear with her LBD at her second-ever movie premiere. Instead, Sevigny did what she always does—she chose irreverence and individuality over what’s popular or expected.

Ultimately, that’s the It-girl secret sauce: When everyone goes in one direction, whether it be quiet luxury or “corporate-core” or full glam, you go the other way. That’s how you arrive at cool.

Collectively, as consumers, we're peeling away from styles instilled with sameness. That itch is why 2025 was the year of the leopard. We saw spots on Alaïa and Saint Laurent’s runways, on the cobblestone streets of Paris, in the concrete jungle of New York, and sprinkled all over style Substacks and Marie Claire’s celebrity style coverage. After twelve months of leopard-print coats, Adidas sneakers, and handbags, the always-trending pattern now feels a little expected—still fabulous, of course, but less impactful than when it’s not oversaturated. It has gone from a statement roar to more of an everyday meow, opening the door for exotic tiger stripes to fill its place.

Beyond being a Sevingy style disciple, I’ve been tracking the tiger print trend across the fashion landscape for several seasons now. Matthieu Blazy showed a shimmering, beaded tiger-striped dress in Chanel’s Métiers d'art 2026 show. In recent collections, Chloé and Jacquemus featured faux-fur jackets that look like the cat’s real coat. Marine Serre's Fall 2025 runway even had vibrant orange tiger-printed hosiery. Was the French fashion designer paying homage to Sevigny? Considering the fashion commentariat calls those tiger tights a "Holy Grail fashion item" for "many people with taste," it's not out of the question.

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Tiger print also calls to mind Alessandro Michele's more-is-more Gucci era. The garish loud luxury look the former Gucci creative director is known for—which doubled the Italian house’s revenue from 2015 to 2022—also happens to be the guiding theme behind 2026’s fashion trends.

I recently ordered my own tiger-striped tights (in gray, as the vibrant yellow-orange pair sadly sold out), and plan to use Sevigny's '96 look as a style beacon for the next 12 months.

Shop More of 2026's Tiger Print Trend