In ‘Couture Dogs of New York’, photographer Paul Nathan documents the world of ‘pawties’, ‘puptials’ and ‘barkmitzvahs’, in which canines wear clothes more elaborate and expensive than those of most humans.
If the wolves of the last millennium had known their descendants would someday evolve into the plumed and rhinestoned creatures featured in Couture Dogs of New York, they might have stopped reproducing out of horror. The book, by photographer Paul Nathan, captures the most extravagantly dressed pooches of the Big Apple, often alongside their doting, matching owners.
Nathan, who also brought us an inside look at extreme dog grooming competitions, started out shooting portraits of people who look like their pets. After placing an ad on Craigslist for subjects, he heard from a woman who liked to dress herself and her dog in fancy matching outfits. “Through her, I met a very dedicated group of New Yorkers who spend hundreds of dollars on hand-crafted outfits for their pups,” Nathan tells Co.Design. These are people who regularly host “pawties” and “barkmitzvahs” and for whom the New York Pet Fashion Show is the event of the year. The photographer also met the canine couturiers who craft these insane tiny getups, which range from chihuahua Elvis costumes (wig included) to $500 beaded ballgowns to fanned tails made from real peacock feathers. “It goes without saying that I very quickly shifted the focus of my book,” he says.
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