Utopia / Dystopia: Fashion, Gender, and the Feline Divine

The series Utopia / Dystopia, co-presented with Morbid Anatomy, continues with an exploration of the history of leopard print and its evolution as one of the most popular prints in western fasion. Author Jo Weldon will discuss its impact on womenswear and how the lineage of divinity, royalty, and warriors has influenced the style of contemporary divas, a new perspective on a much-misunderstood domestic goddess.

Jo Weldon is the author of ‘Fierce: The History of Leopard Print’ (HarperCollins, June 2018). Her experience with the print spans the worlds of fashion, rock ‘n’ roll, and the performing arts. She is the Headmistress at the New York School of Burlesque and tours the world performing and teaching. She is also a field instructor at Playwrights Horizons at Tisch School of the Arts. Her leopard print lectures and events have been featured in Mental Floss, Racked, The Financial Times, and the New York Times, as well as in magazines in London, Dubai, Ukraine, and Helsinki. She has worked as a harm reduction advocate, presenting media analyses at conferences and lobbying at the UN to promote diverse perspectives on women’s issues. She is currently advocating for the conservation of big cats and their habitats to promote ethical fashion. She lives in New York City.

Image: Henri Milne Edwards, Recherches pour sevir a l’histoire naturelle des mammiferes, 1868