As the world goes into meltdown mode over Louis Vuitton's quirky "puppet sweater", dubbed by some as the “ugliest jumper in the world”, a local designer may have turned out to be the inspiration.

LV's knitted jersey is covered with 14 puppets and crocheted toys and is meant to showcase “the playful puppets that are a major theme this season”.

According to the Mirror UK, the jersey goes for a cool £5,800 (R117,750) and is “exclusively made-to-order”.

But if putting your old toy box on your chest is the latest craze of the season, Durban designer Alexandra van Heerden must be ahead of the curve.

For her third-year assignment at the Durban University of Technology last year, Van Heerden created a collection titled Durbania, which included a "bunny jacket" covered with stuffed toys donated by the Hillcrest Aids Centre.

“All those bunnies were hand stitched onto the jacket, which is really heavy. I think I used 38 bunnies in total and I spent the night before and the morning of my crit stitching,” she told TimesLIVE.

The inspiration for the collection came from the costumes worn by local buskers, with Van Heerden choosing to fashion her pieces from recycled knick-knacks and second-hand clothing.