I have a boy and a girl who's birthdays are only 2 weeks apart. I know they won't celebrate together forever, but for the years that they do, I have the challenge of sometimes taking a specific theme and making it gender neutral. I initially wanted to use every color and every animal pattern I could find, but we all know that's been done (and done well most of the time), so I wanted to try something different.
Some words that came to mind were (of course) animal print, jungle vines, khakis, rugged, tattered and dry. But then you throw the word modern in there, and my brain starts to go in another direction... wire-frame. Thus the wire-frame elephant was introduced.
I think the thing I like most about the way this theme turned out is the idea that you can basically layer in any animal print or extra color that you want because it's so neutral. You can dress it up for an adult party, or make it more playful for a kid's party. You can indulge or keep it simple.
I think I like a little bit of both. Kind of a hi-low vibe.