There’s something in the air this year – Cher is releasing a new album, the Madonna biopic starring Julia Garner is set to start filming, and Debbie Harry is shooting campaigns with Gucci. Fashion is getting in on the action, with brands like Saint Laurent, Prada, and Valentino veering towards the eighties' bold brashness and joy making sensibility. Lest you fear a return of taffeta-style skirts and fluorescent spandex, this iteration is chic and effortless.

If “quiet luxury” whispered, this season, fashion is making a loud, unapologetic roar. We’ve seen the return of eighties-style silhouettes and accessories (think shoulder pads and hourglass suiting), vibrant new colour palettes of tangerine, pistachio, and teal. But perhaps most controversial is the return of animal print. Long fashion’s most divisive motif, this iteration sheds any lingering mob-wife clichés in favour of something more polished. At Zimmermann, safari print reigned supreme on silk separates, and at Valentino Alessandro Michele offered sequin-embellished croc-print eveningwear.

It’s easy to associate animal print with a certain type of garishness – think Fran Fine in The Nanny – but really, it can seamlessly blend into even the most ardent minimalist’s wardrobe. The nineties saw animal prints take on a kind of ‘alternative neutral’ status, like Gwyneth Paltrow’s elegant get-up in The Talented Mr. Ripley. Even the queen of ‘90s minimalism, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, was partial to a leopard print coat, and so is Sarah Pidgeon, the oh-so-stylish actress who mastered her in the new season of Love Story. The key is to balance with understated details – a simple little black dress, classic denim, or crisp shirting.

Want to incorporate this look into your wardrobe? Start small, if you must. A leopard print scarf knotted at the neck (like this iteration from Kmart) brings instant polish to a simple cashmere sweater, while a pair of croc-skin sneakers add new-season cool to the traditional off-duty ensemble. If you want to double the fun, style a pair of croc-pattern ankle boots from Jo Mercer and this chic zebra-print sweater from Ralph Lauren. Or, after dark, reach for Camilla’s unapologetically bold dresses, best paired with sheer tights and sky-high stilettos. It’s a jungle out there.