By
AFP
Printed
March 23, 2025
A brand new exhibition opened Saturday in Paris, charting the emergence of Snoopy as a trend icon. The famed black-and-white beagle has been embraced by designers from streetwear manufacturers to couture homes.
“Snoopy in Style” exhibition in Paris – Reuters
The present on the “Hôtel du Grand Veneur” within the Marais neighborhood is a part of the celebrations for the seventy fifth anniversary of the creation of Snoopy, Charlie Brown, and the “Peanuts” caricature crew by the late American illustrator Charles Schulz.
It’s the newest entry in a aggressive however extraordinarily well-attended subject of trend showcases within the French capital, with the Louvre (“Louvre Couture”) and the Grand Palais (“Dolce & Gabbana”) presently internet hosting packed-out exhibitions.
“Since we’re celebrating our 75th anniversary this year, we thought it would be fun to celebrate the brand’s history with fashion. And where else would you do that but in Paris?” stated Melissa Menta from the Peanuts Worldwide firm.
Entitled “Snoopy in Style” and operating from March 22 to April 5, the free present explains Schulz’s intense care in creating easy, visually recognizable characters that may “bounce off the page.”
Charlie Brown was initially drawn with only a plain white T-shirt earlier than Schulz—whose snappy gown sense can also be celebrated within the present—gave him his trademark sweater with a jagged stripe.
The exhibition is at its most compelling when it explores how designer collaborations and merchandising helped form Snoopy’s cultural legacy. Lengthy earlier than such partnerships grew to become the norm, these efforts reworked a Fifties caricature sketch into a world phenomenon.
In accordance with analysis by the Deloitte consultancy for the Peanuts firm, 80–90% of individuals in the US, Europe, Japan, and even China acknowledge Snoopy these days.
“Funny”
Snoopy’s iconic rise from the caricature to international trend runways and high-street shops owes a lot to the artistic imaginative and prescient of Connie Boucher, Charles Schulz’s longtime merchandising companion and the driving drive behind the beloved beagle’s model evolution.
Within the early Nineteen Eighties, Connie Boucher dreamed up the thought of making dolls of Snoopy and his sister Belle—then cleverly despatched them to high trend homes worldwide, inviting designers to decorate the duo of their signature types.
“Isn’t it amazing how the busy fashion celebrities wanted to take on the challenge of designing outfits for fuzzy characters with large ears and tails?” she is quoted as saying afterward.
By 1982, there have been sufficient dolls—from Karl Lagerfeld, Fendi, or longtime fan Jean-Charles de Castelbajac—to placed on a primary touring exhibition in U.S. cities, London and Paris.
Many are on show in essentially the most hanging room of the Paris present, which options dozens of dolls from this era and others from the current day.
Italian trend home Valentino despatched a contribution that sees Belle in a reproduction of a couture outfit that was showcased in Paris in January of this yr and consists of 15 completely different materials.
“Designers wanted to include Snoopy because they realize the universal message that he carries,” curator Sarah Andelman, founding father of former Paris boutique Colette, instructed AFP.
Elsewhere, guests get a way of the Snoopy determine’s international advertising and marketing and industrial energy, which seems on Marc Jacobs trainers, Uniqlo T-shirts, Lacoste padded jackets, Gucci denims, Vans footwear, and extra.
Licensing agreements include strict circumstances.
“It shouldn’t be X-rated, and Snoopy can’t be smoking or drinking alcohol,” Menta defined.
The Peanuts firm faces a problem in protecting Charlie Brown’s pet sidekick related to new generations so lengthy after his first look on October 4, 1950.
The style collaborations obtain this, however assist has additionally come from the web, the place Schulz’s 18,000 “Peanuts” strips are endlessly recycled.
Charles Schulz, who handed away in 2000, “would be amazed at how it has taken off on social media,” his widow Jeannie Schulz instructed AFP.
By Adam Plowright
