Runway
Croc textures are eating animal print alive this season
Croc leather is taking over from animal print as the season's defining texture. See how the runways are wearing the trend this fall, and how to try it yourself without overcommitting.
Dhriti Mehra
August 31, 2026 • 4 MIN READ
Every trend cycle needs a villain to dethrone and this season animal print finally met its match. Leopard, zebra and snake have had a good run of it, showing up on everything from office blazers to airport outfits until the pattern started feeling like wallpaper you had seen one too many times. Croc, or crocodile embossed leather, has been quietly climbing up the runway food chain for a few seasons now and this fall it is positioned to take over completely. It works through surface and shine instead of a repeating motif, through the tactile suggestion of something reptilian and expensive, and that difference is exactly why designers keep reaching for it.
Sister Says
Sister says animal print had gotten too easy and too available, the kind of thing you could pick up at a fast fashion counter for the price of a coffee, and croc is what the fashion crowd reached for once that stopped feeling special. It plays nicer with a wardrobe that already exists too, since a leopard coat announces itself the second you walk into a room while a croc jacket or bag settles in as a neutral you can wear with color or without it. The fall 2026 shows made it clear this was not a one house moment either. Khaite, Bottega Veneta and Gucci all sent croc embossed leather down the runway, moving it from jackets and skirts straight through to handbags, which is usually the sign a texture is being positioned as a full wardrobe takeover rather than a single hero item.
Chanel leaned into it through accessories, with croc effect bags becoming one of the season’s most requested pieces off the back of the show, while Tory Burch and several other houses picked up the texture across their own leather goods. Reptilian textures showed up in footwear too, with brands treating boots as the next natural surface for the trend once bags and jackets had already made the case, and what stands out is how consistently croc appeared across such different design sensibilities, from Tom Ford’s polish to Bottega’s tactile, craft driven approach.
If you want to try it yourself, the easiest entry point is still an accessory, a croc embossed bag or a pair of loafers, which lets you test the texture without committing your whole outfit to it. If you are ready to go further, a croc leather jacket in a deep brown or black works as a replacement for the suede jacket you have probably reached for every transitional season, pairing just as easily with jeans as it does with tailored trousers. Keep the rest of the outfit in solids and let the croc piece carry the texture on its own, since stacking it against another busy print usually cancels out the whole point of wearing it.
TL;DR
Animal print is stepping aside for croc, the texture that swaps repeating patterns for tactile, expensive looking surfaces. It showed up across Khaite, Tom Ford, Bottega Veneta, Gucci and Chanel this season, moving between jackets, bags and footwear. Style it as a neutral, let it anchor an otherwise boring outfit, and start with an accessory if you are not ready to commit to a full piece.
Sister shops
Saint G – Women Viviana Croc Embossed Chocolate Leather Moccasins
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