Catwalk Furbaby, a runway show featuring models sporting fashion AND rescue dogs, was created to to showcase cutting-edge fashion and raise awareness and philanthropic support for animal welfare. Combining apparel and adorable with philanthropy, the event took place last week as part of New York Fashion Week.
Created by women’s lifestyle brand and magazine ELYSIAN in collaboration with BISSELL Pet Foundation, Runway 7 and SohoMuse, the inaugural fashion show CatWalk FurBaby was hosted by Consuelo Vanderbilt Costin at Sony Hall on February 10, 2023.
The impetus for this event – the reason for bringing it all together – was the welfare of animals. The BISSELL Pet Foundation’s goal is to help reduce the number of animals in shelters and rescues and to find a loving home for every pet. Rescue pets affiliated with animal welfare organizations from across the country accompanied the fashion models on the runway at CatWalk Furbaby as another way the foundation can raise awareness and money for the animal shelters that so desperately need it.
20 individual designers each collaborated with a fashion model and their assigned four-legged fur baby. Outfits included those by fashion designers Marc Bouwer, Malan Breton, Karen Caldwell, Anne Fontaine, Gloria Lee, Merci Dupre, Nicole Miller, Noize Apparel, Victor de Souza and Brook Wilder.
“Our nation’s animal shelters are facing unprecedented overcrowding due to inflation, housing restrictions, and a decrease in adoptions,” said Cathy Bissell, founder of BISSELL Pet Foundation. “BISSELL Pet Foundation is grateful to be the beneficiary charity of Catwalk FurBaby to make a difference for homeless pets in ten animal welfare organizations across the country. By supporting CatWalk FurBaby, participants will help deserving pets receive much-needed second chances through this one-of-a-kind event.”
Related links:
• Elysian
• Bissell Pet Foundation
• Runway 7
• SohoMuse
information courtesy of Elysian, photos by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Runway 7