Fans of the leopard print coat trend traveled in a pack throughout New York Fashion Week street style this season. Just behind it came Jennifer Lawrence, wearing a take that, in terms of styling, is more accessible to those of us who weren't seated front row at the Tory Burch or Coach fall fashion shows earlier in the week.
Lawrence took a walk through Manhattan on Feb. 12 in her cold-weather essentials: a snuggly crewneck sweater, straight-leg jeans, and weatherproof boots. A lot of us would look at the sub-freezing forecast and top those classics off with an Aritzia Super Puff—but not the No Hard Feelings star. Instead, she leveled up her slush-fighting boots (most likely by Jil Sander) with a longline, leopard print coat from By Malene Birger. The curved collar and slightly oversize fit did what a puffer jacket simply couldn't. That is, it gave her otherwise low-key pieces some fashion person-approved heft.
As anyone flitting from runway to runway could attest, leopard was the print most spotted throughout fashion week. It was the one-and-done choice to make dreary winter dressing more expressive, more wild. (Marie Claire editor-in-chief Nikki Ogunnaike said it herself in a styling hacks edition of her newsletter, Self Checkout: "The coat is the look.")
Guests tried the coat trend with everything from wide-leg leather slacks and contrasting Peter Pan collars to chocolately sweater dresses and dark-wash denim. Just like Lawrence's outfit, these street style 'fits brought the Y2K fashion trend into the present with practical footwear and a nonchalant attitude. No shade to the plain black puffer, but a boldly printed coat telegraphed a lot more personality.
Fashion week does come with a bit of peacocking, so a handful of leopard print adopters wore impractical shoes even in inches of snowfall. But back on the everyday street style circuit, Lawrence teamed her weatherproof boots with a few additional outfit-elevating accessories. A minimalist Toteme beanie kept her head warm with the plus of added texture; a sleek tote bag by The Row, a pendant necklace, and tortoiseshell sunglasses worked together to balance the bulk of her heavy-duty boots.
Lawrence's leopard print coat has only appeared in her wardrobe once before: Last week, when she paired it with another vibrant blue sweater and floppy knit hat. But like Hailey Bieber and Jennifer Lopez before her, the Hunger Games alum might find that it's worth getting spotted far more than twice. After all, this is the kind of opulent coat trend that still very much works with run-of-the-mill, weatherproof boots—and there's a whole lot of winter left to prove it.
