5 Animals Doing Fashion Trends (Not in Our Wildest Imagination)

No, we're not talking about putting sausage dogs into cute jumpers or picking pretty collars for a cat.

Some animals choose to rock natural accessories and even perfumes and make-up!

So, we thought we’d share some real-life examples that, hopefully, you’ll find both fun and interesting.

But since, at Project Cece, we’re all about sustainable fashion, we couldn’t help adding a consideration on human trends, too.

Fashion in nature: 5 animals following or setting trends

Spoiler alert: some of these are pretty mind-blowing, and some (like the second one) a bit creepy. So, be prepared. 

Vultures wearing makeup

We all know that male birds use their vibrant plumage to attract females. 

But have you ever heard of birds—of all ages and sexes—staining them on purpose?

Apparently, researchers call it “avian cosmetics”, and only a dozen species do it. 

It’s particularly common with Egyptian and Bearded Vultures, probably because they both have white feathers or patches. And since socially dominant and older birds tend to have the most colour, experts think it might be a status symbol.

How do they do it, though? 

Well, compared to the long-winded tutorials we see on TikTok, vultures have a fairly simple makeup routine: to get a red or brown makeover, they rub themselves in iron-rich soil. 

With bone-eating birds wearing make-up, we rest our case that makeup is badass.

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Orcas wearing salmon hats

Lots of 80's trends have come back in recent years: oversized blazers, polka dots, large collars… and dead salmon hats, apparently.

Luckily, the last one is only a thing among killer whales (although it’s still a bit creepy).

The phenomenon was first spotted in 1987, off the Pacific Northwest coast. Some orcas were swimming around while balancing dead fish—especially salmon—on their heads or backs. Recently, it happened again. 

The reason behind this trend? Not sure!

After the atypical behavior of attacking luxury yachts in recent years, killer whales are making scientists scratch their heads once more, 

The most popular guesses seem to be: to keep their food for later or share it with a podmate, or simply to be playful when interacting with other orcas. Err, hats off to them, I guess?

Decorator crabs adorning themselves

Well, it’s in the name. Lots of sea life uses tricks to camouflage themselves from predators, but decorator crabs take it to the next level.

Thanks to the Velcro-like hair on their shells, they can stick all kinds of colourful bits and bobs to their backs, like corals, seaweed, and sponge. The result often looks as if that crab had jumped out of a fashion show (or walked sideways from it).

And that’s not even everything. Sometimes, they purposefully wear perfume too… by choosing stinky objects to ward off predators.

Trend-setting birds decorating their nests

There are more recent studies on this too, but scientist Henry Smith Williams—author of The Secret Life of Birds—figured it out in 1939. After he placed some colourful balls of yarn in his garden, tits started using them to decorate their nests.

The most curious thing? Once the first birds picked a colour, most of the other ones would copy them!

Clearly, some animals follow fashion trends and some others set them.

Chimpanzees wearing grass earrings

Talking about trend-setters, have you heard of the iconic Julie?

This stylish chimpanzee in a Zambian sanctuary used to regularly stick a long blade of grass into her ear, leaving it there as she walked around.

It must have been an impressive catwalk because… eight out of the other twelve chimpanzees started copying her. Not only that: they kept doing that even after she passed away. What a legacy!

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What happens when humans follow fashion trends, though?

Of course, we know there are various reasons why certain animals follow fashion trends (or appear to, in some cases).

However, we couldn’t end this tongue-in-cheek article without stating something that always gets us up on our soapbox: following trends should be out of fashion.

Most fast fashion brands and online stores rely on weekly micro-seasons, pushing new trends consistently. The result? 

• Overconsumption – These ever-changing trends encourage you to see clothes as disposable
• Unsustainable – To make new clothes fast and compel people to keep buying them, most brands churn out cheap items with a high hidden cost (like a terrible environmental footprint, toxic chemicals, and exploited workers in sweatshops)
• Removing your sense of self-expression – No wonder it’s easy to get tired of fast fashion clothes: many of them are purchased because they’re popular, not because they speak to your sense of style

So, while we absolutely loved this round-up of animals doing fashion trends, remember: the best thing you can do for the planet—and yourself—is to buy fewer and higher-quality clothes that were made ethically, match your style, and will last you for years. 

Doing hauls and discarding clothes just to keep up with random trends… Isn’t that as crazy as wearing a salmon hat?