Snoopy the fashion icon celebrated in Paris exhibition

A new exhibition opened Saturday in Paris, charting the emergence of Snoopy as a fashion icon. The famed black-and-white beagle has been embraced by designers from streetwear brands to couture houses.

The show at the “Hôtel du Grand Veneur” in the Marais neighborhood is part of the celebrations for the 75th anniversary of the creation of Snoopy, Charlie Brown, and the “Peanuts” comic strip crew by the late American illustrator Charles Schulz.

It is the latest entry in a competitive but extremely well-attended field of fashion showcases in the French capital, with the Louvre (“Louvre Couture”) and the Grand Palais (“Dolce & Gabbana”) currently hosting packed-out exhibitions.

“Since we’re celebrating our 75th anniversary this year, we thought it would be fun to celebrate the brand’s history with fashion. And where else would you do that but in Paris?” said Melissa Menta from the Peanuts Worldwide company.

Entitled “Snoopy in Style” and running from March 22 to April 5, the free show explains Schulz’s intense care in creating simple, visually recognizable characters that would “bounce off the page.”

Charlie Brown was initially drawn with just a plain white T-shirt before Schulz—whose snappy dress sense is also celebrated in the show—gave him his trademark sweater with a jagged stripe.

The exhibition is at its most compelling when it explores how designer collaborations and merchandising helped shape Snoopy’s cultural legacy. Long before such partnerships became the norm, these efforts transformed a 1950s comic strip sketch into a global phenomenon.

According to research by the Deloitte consultancy for the Peanuts company, 80–90% of people in the United States, Europe, Japan, and even China recognize Snoopy nowadays.

“Funny”

Snoopy’s iconic rise from the comic strip to global fashion runways and high-street stores owes much to the creative vision of Connie Boucher, Charles Schulz’s longtime merchandising partner and the driving force behind the beloved beagle’s brand evolution.

In the early 1980s, Connie Boucher dreamed up the idea of creating dolls of Snoopy and his sister Belle—then cleverly sent them to top fashion houses worldwide, inviting designers to dress the duo in their signature styles.

“Isn’t it amazing how the busy fashion celebrities wanted to take on the challenge of designing outfits for fuzzy characters with large ears and tails?” she is quoted as saying afterward.

By 1982, there were enough dolls—from Karl Lagerfeld, Fendi, or longtime fan Jean-Charles de Castelbajac—to put on a first traveling exhibition in U.S. cities, London and Paris.

Many are on display in the most striking room of the Paris show, which features dozens of dolls from this period and others from the present day.

Italian fashion house Valentino sent a contribution that sees Belle in a replica of a couture outfit that was showcased in Paris in January of this year and includes 15 different fabrics.

“Designers wanted to include Snoopy because they realize the universal message that he carries,” curator Sarah Andelman, founder of former Paris boutique Colette, told AFP.

Elsewhere, visitors get a sense of the Snoopy figure’s global marketing and commercial power, which appears on Marc Jacobs trainers, Uniqlo T-shirts, Lacoste padded jackets, Gucci jeans, Vans shoes, and more.

Licensing agreements come with strict conditions.

“It shouldn’t be X-rated, and Snoopy can’t be smoking or drinking alcohol,” Menta explained.

The Peanuts company faces a challenge in keeping Charlie Brown’s pet sidekick relevant to new generations so long after his first appearance on October 4, 1950.

The fashion collaborations achieve this, but help has also come from the internet, where Schulz’s 18,000 “Peanuts” strips are endlessly recycled.

Charles Schulz, who passed away in 2000, “would be amazed at how it has taken off on social media,” his widow Jeannie Schulz told AFP.

By Adam Plowright