Japanese zoo goes wild with jeans styled by lion fangs and tiger claws

A zoo in Japan has started a fashion maul by turning its lion, tiger and bear enclosures into denim sweatshops.

A Japanese zoo has taken the catwalk to a wild new level, using some of its fiercest inhabitants to rip and claw jeans to a fashionably distressed look. The facility northeast of Tokyo has unveiled "Zoo Jeans", styled by the fangs and claws of lions, tigers and bears.

Zoo officials say the material held up well, all things considered.

“We wrapped several pieces of denim around tyres and other toys. Once they were thrown into the enclosures, the animals jumped on them,” says zoo director Nobutaka Namae, adding that the pieces were later patched together to create the finished product. “The denim was actually much tougher than we had thought, and it turned out nicely destroyed.”

Bear-savaged togs and trousers ripped to shreds by some of the fiercest inhabitants at the Kamine Zoo in Japan are among the items under the Zoo Jeans label. – AFP Photos

The idea came from a Tokyo advertising executive who wanted to give something back to the zoo where he spent time as a child, says Namae. 

Two pairs of jeans ripped by lions and a tiger-destroyed version are being auctioned on the Internet with proceeds to be donated to the zoo and the conservation group WWF. Bidding on the tiger-torn denim has soared to ¥121,000 (RM3,800). The jeans were also put on exhibit at the Kamine Zoo – along with a bear-savaged version. – AFP