Have we become numb to leopard print? Possibly. It’s sprawled across the floors of too many see-and-be-seen restaurants, and thanks to last year’s “Mob Wife” TikTok aesthetic, every influencer (and every impeccably cool great aunt who bought it new in the 60s) has a cheetah-print coat on standby. Fawn had its chance but never quite hit — too soft, too subtle — perhaps a little too nice.

But tiger — the latest feline on the fray — is bringing more bite, more swagger, and just enough danger to make decorating with animal prints feel subversive again.

It’s bolder, sharper, and carries a defiant glamour that makes leopard look almost… polite. “Tiger print brings a boldness that feels fresh and a little more rebellious,” says interior designer Annie Downing. “It has a strong sense of movement, a graphic punch, and a certain regality that wants attention.” Scalamandré’s now-iconic tiger print, for instance, has been a favorite of both stately homes and rule-breaking boutique hotels alike.

As is and was the case for the leopard revival before it, the tiger trend is far from new. Your favorite 1970s rockstar probably had a tiger-striped rug in their sunken living room. “Leopard has decades — if not centuries — of credibility, but tiger print isn’t exactly new either,” says Annie. “It has deep historical roots, from antique carpets to French textiles, so while it might feel like a ‘moment’ right now, it’s hardly a passing trend.”

The key, of course, is execution. Instead of an over-the-top, literal approach, 100% of the time, designers are taking toward tiger print with modern nuance. Studio Shamshiri and Christopher Farr have both reinterpreted the motif with graphic, lightning bolt-like effects — more suggestion than stripe.

Annie says that getting it right hinges on two things: “restraint and context.” Consider Tigre, the recently opened NYC hotspot inspired by the same tiger craze fueling this revival. The space offsets energetic patterns with warm, moody lighting and richly textured solids — mohair, velvet, and aged leather are all fair game.