On social media, cats are a big hit. But in the world of luxury, dogs are more likely to seduce brands, who see them as the ultimate growth drivers. The most recent proof is the presence, in the latest Le Bon Marché catalog (for the store’s 170th anniversary), of a selection of loyal customers posing with the new season look. And they appear accompanied by their dogs…
This commercial success is undoubtedly due to the distinctive status of “accessory animal” that only dogs enjoy. Have we ever seen anyone walking their cat on a leash? Dogs show up when cats shy away. Here is their advantage. As a result, every designer now has to own a dog, which they don’t hesitate to display on social networks, and all sorts of products are multiplying. Celine, Vuitton, Fendi offer leashes and collars, bags (including waste bags), bowls and toys with logos. At Gucci, animal comfort draws attention with, among others, a sofa and a coat. Never behind in snobbery, Hermès even imagined a shampoo and a brush for our four-legged friends, as the media like to call them.
The most cynical (it’s time to be so, since the words cynicism and dog share the same origins) cannot help but compare this phenomenon to that of the child-object. Indeed, both are based on the same desire to express one’s values, aesthetic and moral, through an extension of the living self. Since dogs already eat vegan food, why wouldn’t they wear a sustainable wool coat or a goose down jacket?
Others will think this is one more (unexpected) effect of the pandemic, when many felt the urge to own a dog. The pet would help going out and meeting neighbors with impunity. It would later comfort their owners in the face of uncertainty (a therapeutic companion) and be staged with them on social networks, another sign of urban narcissism and a pretext for the craziest expenses. The pet-influencers were born. The way was paved for fashion brands. But let’s never forget that when we walk our dog, the one who leads is not always the one we think…