It's a dog's life! Russian
canine fashion defies crisis
MOSCOW, April 18, 2009 (AFP) -
While Russia's two-legged population feels the financial pinch,
designer lines from sportswear to mink coats, evening gowns to
bootees are being snapped up... for the nation's dogs.
For mankind's four-legged friends
the rigours of the Russian winter have long required some extra
layers to keep out the cold.
But the jewel-encrusted,
over-the-top creations on offer today, together with perfumes,
facial masks and Swarkovski-studded leads, go way beyond the
imaginings of, say, the 19th century writer Anton Chekhov, who
touched on the phenomenon of women and their dogs in "Lady with
Lapdog."
Unlocking the commercial potential
of the instinct to pamper one's pooch are designers like Svetlana
Abramova, who in 2004 launched her own brand, Very Stylish Dog
(www.styledog.ru), and is now breaking into the foreign
market.
She started out making clothes for
humans, but began designing for her chihuahua Boniya in 2001 and
was soon embarked on a full-scale business.
"When I went out with Boniya
dressed up really fashionably everyone would ask me where I got the
clothes from. Little by little I lost all interest in human
fashion," said Abramova.
Having got to grips with canine
chic, Abramova last year created a range of matching woman and dog
outfits for American firm Diamond Dogs, due to go on display in
London in March and later in Los Angeles.
London store Harrods has ordered a
new autumn collection, she says.
And along with fur coats and day,
evening and sports wear, her customers can push the boundaries of
good taste as never before with costumes that allow their dogs to
pose as bees, angels, emergency service workers or
nurses.
Her dog garments "are cut with
respect for the rules of human haute couture," said Abramova,
reassuringly.
"We use only natural materials --
jersey, cashmere and silk -- because some dogs are allergic to
synthetic materials," she noted.
Shops like Charli in central
Moscow offer not only dog apparel but numerous accessories --
including dog rucksacks for venturing far from home
turf.
Charli can also give your dog a
manicure and dye or plait its hair.
"The clothes are not only about
beauty but protect your animal from the cold," stressed the shop's
co-owner, Edita Lys, who says business is holding up and the shop
gets about 20 visitors a day at weekends. Most are "middle class,"
she asserts.
But while it is not unusual to see
Russian women in restaurants and nightspots with a dog on one arm,
the economic crisis has led to some stylistic changes.
"We today make more clothes in
casual style -- more comfortable, more day-to-day and less luxury.
Our clothes are being priced more accessibly but remain elegant and
fashionable," said the marketing director of Very Stylish Dog, Nail
Abrarov.
"The dogs very quickly get used to
the clothes, which protect them from cold and mud. The owners, who
treat the dogs like their children, don't want them to get sick,"
he said.by Victoria Loginova