Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! The red carpet at last night's premiere of blockbuster Mirvish musical The Lion King at Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre hosted a stampede of African-inspired fashion.
And while spots of leopard, zebra stripes and oodles of faux fur flecked the theme-loving crowd in everything from pumps and wraps to scarves, three daring style mavens took their animal magnetism over the top.
Fashion Television's Jeanne Beker went urban safari in a real snakeskin jacket by designer Izzy Camilleri, skinny snakeskin-print Danier leather pants, a sexy python halter by Misura and -- in her only stray from all-Canadian design -- strappy Miu Miu heels to complete her wild desert-toned ensemble.
Singer-actress Louise Pitre ( Jacques Brel, Les Misérables) also went for sexy-skin chic in head-to-toe stretch-leopard print -- a teeny tank and tight pants -- by Guess.
Ms. Pitre had just rushed over from her own rehearsal, for ABBA musical Mamma Mia!, which opens May 23.
"I didn't get too dressed up," the silver-haired beauty said. "I'm saving that for my opening night."
Nikki Pezaro, the always flamboyant Psychic to the Stars, mixed leopard and cheetah in her slinky Wayne Clark silk chiffon dress and wrap.
Others making their way into the theatre made more demure wild kingdom references.
Actress Shirley Douglas ( Wind At My Back), escorted by her twins Rachel and Kiefer Sutherland, wore an African beaded choker and brass and bead earrings. They were a gift from the late Canadian actor Roland Hewgill.
"When he filmed The Midday Sun in Kenya he brought them back for me," said Ms. Douglas, otherwise clad in classic black. "I don't get to wear them often, but this is the day to wear something from Africa."
Filmmaker Don McKellar ( Last Night, TV's Twitch City) had a somewhat simpler tale to tell of his vaguely tropical orange-and-green print Yves Saint Laurent tie.
"The colours looked right to me," he said. "I was going for the African look -- to that end, I also covered my suit in cat fur," he said, picking at the fluffy bits.
Mirvish publicity man John Karastamatis wore the limited-edition paper suit -- borrowed from Hugo Boss -- he modelled Tuesday in The Globe and Mail, having first mended his accidentally torn pants with masking tape.