At the NYC Pet Gala, fashion goes to the dogs

NEW YORK (AP) — They may call it a catwalk, but the Pet Gala is the dogs’ time to shine.

Designer Anthony Rubio threw the now-annual fashion fete Monday night, sending 18 dogs down the red carpet at New York’s American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog. Each canine donned couture similar to what celebrities wore at the Met Gala just two weeks earlier.

“I want people to understand that we’re not making fun of the Met Gala. We’re not mimicking the Met Gala,” Rubio said. “We’re elevating and appraising and appreciating the wonderful designs that were presented at the Met Gala by the most talented designers of the world.”

At $300 a ticket, proceeds from the Pet Gala benefit the host museum — much like its human counterpart uptown serves as a fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.

Most of the furry fashionistas were pint-sized — even the role of Chris Hemsworth was played by a shih tzu — though there was a Leonberger in the mix. Some of the Met Gala’s most talked about stars were represented: Daffodil the Pomeranian as Jennifer Lopez, Kimba the chihuahua in one of Zendaya’s looks, Miley-Jo the Chorkie as Cardi B and Bastian the terrier as Colman Domingo. This year’s gala dress code was the Garden of Time, accompanying the Met’s “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” exhibit.

The dogs’ outfits will be housed at the Museum of the Dog for the month of June, Rubio said.

“Every photographer tells you it’s the hardest job to work with ... kids and animals. Not in my world,” said Rubio, who worked “tirelessly” to adapt the garments in the short timeframe. “I think the people are a lot harder to work with because the dogs do not complain. In my world, the dogs don’t get forced to wear what they don’t want to wear.”

Unlike Messi the dog’s turn last week on the Cannes carpet, the red carpet at the AKC Museum did not quite go unspoiled. That’s not quite something you’d see at the Met Gala.

But Rubio did have a message for the Met Gala’s impresario: “Now, I should say that I would love — if Anna Wintour is listening — I would love to be the first one to walk on the red carpet with a canine model in canine couture. Just putting it out there.”