The Lion King is one of Disney’s most inspiring movies. Praised by critics and loved by our elementary school selves, the film holds the record for the highest-grossing 2D animated film of all time in the United States.
I know you’re probably thinking “Yeah, the Lion King was a cool movie, but none of the characters wear clothes… How can you be inspired by the fashion?” Well, if you think outside the box, the Lion King has endless possibilities for inspiration. I personally think that the songs from the movie are incredible, so I used scenes from different songs to inspire 4 different outfits below.
Like the previous articles in this series, the purpose of this article is to use childhood idols as inspiration for outfits that you can actually pull off as a college student. All it takes is a little creativity!
For more Disney-inspired looks, check out our past articles on Walt Disney’s Snow White, Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, Walt Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Walt Disney’s Cinderella, Walt Disney’s Princess Jasmine, Walt Disney’s Princess Tiana, Walt Disney’s Pocahontas, Belle from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Jane Porter from Disney’s Tarzan, Megara from Disney’s Hercules, Emeralda from Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Walt Disney’s Mulan.
About The Lion King
The movie begins with all of the animals of the Pride Lands in Africa flocking to Pride Rock to welcome the newborn lion cub, Simba. Simba is the son of Mufasa, the King, and Sarabi, the Queen. The animals are excited to welcome Simba into the world, because he will be the future King of the Pride Lands. The only animal that isn’t thrilled about Simba’s birth is Mufasa’s brother, Scar. Scar is a selfish lion who wants the kingdom for himself.
As Simba grows older, he is enthusiastic about his future as King. He has a great relationship with his Father, and wants to learn everything from him. Unfortunately, Scar cannot live with the fact that Simba will be King, so he plots to kill both Mufasa and Simba. Just as Scar planned, Simba gets caught in a stampede of wildebeests. When Mufasa tries to save him, he gets trampled in the stampede and dies. Although Simba survives, Scar tricks him into believing Mufasa’s death was his fault, and that the kingdom would hate him for what he’d done. He encourages Simba to run away and never return, so Simba takes Scar’s advice. Scar returns to the Pride Lands and tells all the animals that Simba and Mufasa were both killed, and he takes over as King.
Simba feels terrible for what he has done. He is depressed, not only about his father’s death, but about the fact that he will never get to see his mother or his best friend, Nala, ever again. Eventually, he meets up with an unlikely pair of best friends, Timon, a meercat, and Pumba, a warthog. They take him in as their new best friend and teach him everything about their laid-back way of life.
Years later, Nala wanders into the area where Simba, Timon and Pumba live. She is thrilled to see Simba, and wants him to go back to the Pride Lands and take over as the rightful king. She explains that Scar has been doing a terrible job and the kingdom is starving. Simba is reluctant to return, and Nala gets upset.
Simba finally changes his mind after talking to his father’s spirit in the sky. He returns to the Pride Lands with his new friends, Timon and Pumba, and he defeats the evil Scar. He becomes King and restores the land to the wonderful place it was before Mufasa’s death.
The Circle of Life
As the movie begins, the song “The Circle of Life” plays while the animals in the Pride Lands Kingdom gather at Pride Rock to see the presentation of the newborn Simba. To capture the diversity of the animals coming together in the scene, I used lots of different patterns, textures and colors. I even included a giraffe print bangle, and earrings with a subtle zebra print.
Pants- American Eagle, Top- Shop Ruche, Earrings- Wet Seal, Bracelet- Avalaya, Shoes- Lori’s Shoes
Just Can’t Wait To Be King
Young Simba explains just how much he wants to be the King of the Pride Lands by singing the song “Just Can’t Wait To Be King“. His youth and excitement are definitely expressed in this song as he dances among the trees and animals. To recreate the scene with clothing, I made an outfit using lots of bright colors and playful pieces. If you’re feeling extra daring, you can wear the dress with pants, but if not, the outfit would still look adorable without the jeans.
Bag- Modcloth, Shoes- Modcloth, Dress- Shop Ruche, Jeans- McQ, Earrings- Tarina Tarantino
Hakuna Matata
Timon and Pumba describe their lifestyle with the motto “Hakuna Matata“, which basically means that they are worry-free. They live wherever they want, they do whatever activities they please, and they eat whatever bugs they can find. Their motto inspired me to make a laid-back, earthy outfit which includes an organic cotton dress, an eco-friendly bag, wooden platform heels, and insect earrings (since they are considered a delicacy to the trio).
Bag- Engage Green, Socks- American Apparel, Dress- Nancy’s Gone Green, Bracelet- Avalaya, Earrings- ASOS, Shoes- Fergie
Can You Feel The Love Tonight?
When Nala and Simba are reunited after years of being apart, they have quite a romantic reunion. To capture the romance, I used a dress that is the same color as Nala with lacy details, as well as a floral clutch, lace tights, and a heart necklace. Finally, I used earrings with a crown to symbolize Simba’s future as the King.
Earrings- Juicy Couture, Shoes- ASOS, Dress- Miss Selfridge, Clutch- Topshop, Tights- Modcloth, Necklace- Modcloth
Thoughts?
Are you inspired by The Lion King? Which look is your favorite? Which Disney movies would you be interested in seeing posts about in the future? I want to know what you think, so be sure to leave your thoughts in a comment!
Favorite Disney movie EVER!!! Good job! I love all the outfits. Thanks for doing this one!
Hakuna Matata and Can you feel the love tonight are the best ones! I can totally see the direction with the others (they’re just not my total favs. lol). This one had me baffled since it wasnt like a Disney princess so I was like “how are they going to pull off someone looking like a lion?” But you did! This was awesome!
This is such a great movie and once again you translated it so well into fashion. On a side note: I can totally see Vanessa from Gossip Girl in the outfit from “Just Can’t Wait To Be King” 🙂
You are so creative! I really like the third look!
This might be the best disney inspiration post yet! The outfits fit the songs perfectly, and I love the Hakuna Matata look.
awesome as usual!!
Cutest post i’ve seen in a long time 🙂
Oh my gosh, you did it again! Absolutely brilliant.
I especially adore the circle of life and the hakuna matata outfits. It’s like you paint pictures with the clothes and accessories – the outfits really capture the spirit and mood of the Lion King movie, without ever looking ridiculous or childish.
I love the selection of outfits you did! Can You Feel The Love Tonight is my favorite!! Its perfect!
This is amazing! Ahhh, please do more, this post has inspired me so much! There is so much more movies that you could do and I’d love to see more!
I am always blown away by your posts- fantastic job, as usual!
lovelovelove lion king! 🙂 AMAZING!
but i wish there was something on. i don’t know. a lion’s mane? 🙂
…maybe a really fuzzy scarf 😀
Uh, not enough zebra.
Just kidding! I love all the looks! After reading all of the other posts you’ve made, I was actually thinking how cool it would be for you to do a series of Lion King inspired looks. This totally took me by surprise! The Hakuna Matata look is my absolute favorite!
Keep it up! I can’t wait to see what movie you’re inspired by next!
This is awesome. I love all the outfits, as a lion though I’m kind of offended because this didn’t really happen, it’s not a true story. I’m just kidding you always do amazing jobs, don’t let bad coments bring you down sistah!
aw! i love can you feel the love tonight!!
good job. 🙂
I’m convinced modcloth is overpriced! i have the bow tights shown in the last look, but i got them for 5.80 from forever21 versus modcloth’s 14. and im not even sure the quality argument can be made because i also have shoes from another store -lulu’s- that i recently saw on modcloth. $32 vs $40, and i could see that they were the exact same pair! all of this is to say that i do like modcloth’s wares, but definitely not their prices, when on two occasions i bought something elsewhere and ending up seeing it on modcloth marked up :-/….
Love the Disney inspirired looks! I would love to see super hero inspired fashion. I think all of the bright colors would make for a fun challenge! On the Disney note I would like to see Gizelle from Enchanted.
Very nice job! I love how you’re coming up with all of these! They’re all very cute! Could I suggest maybe doing Wendy and Tinkerbell from Peter Pan? Keep these posts up!
I love this movie, but I am not in love with these outfits, not at all.
Wow! I wasn’t expecting this. GREAT job! You’re so creative!
Here are some ideas for the future:
alice from alice in wonderland
the evil step sisters from cinderella
penny and/or medusa from the rescuers
giselle from enchanted
tinkerbelle and/or wendy from peter pan
the cats from the aristocats
Other non-disney princesses:
anastasia from anastasia
thumbelina form thumbelina
odette from the swan princess
i love all these posts
i cant believe you came up with something this amazing for Lion King!!!
I loveee it
I love these posts, they’re all extremely creative. It would be so awesome to see what you could do with Peter Pan, as a suggestion.
I love how the colours in the shoe (in IJCWTBK) tie everything together – beautiful! Of course, they’re all amazing 😉
sorry about the double post…
I’m convinced modcloth is overpriced! i have the bow tights shown in the last look, but i got them for 5.80 from forever21 versus modcloth’s 14. and im not even sure the quality argument can be made because i also have shoes from another store -lulu’s- that i recently saw on modcloth. $32 vs $40, and i could see that they were the exact same pair! all of this is to say that i do like modcloth’s wares, but definitely not their prices, when on two occasions i bought something elsewhere and ending up seeing it on modcloth marked up :-/….
You are so creative! I like “Can you feel the love tonight” best for my personal style. I am obsessed with those shoes!!
I love all of your DIsney posts!
Can I suggest that you do an Ellie one? Or at least one inspired by Pixar’s Up?
The colors in the movie could easily inspire some outfit ideas. Ellie’s fashion choices were pretty great too. 🙂
Very creative! The outfits you put together are so cute. My favorite is the ‘Can you feel the love Tonight’ look 🙂
The Lion King is my favorite Disney movie and I never would have guess you could turn it into outfit inspiration but you did such a great job!! I love it!!
Best post ever!!
Lion King was one of the best Disney movies ever made! Great job with the outfits!
THIS MOVIE! I love that this post is based around the songs. “Can You Feel The Love Tonight?” is the only one that might fit my style, but I think “Just Can’t Wait To Be King” captures the mood of the song best.