Four-Legged Stars In Their Own Right

They aren’t just companions and they’re definitely not accessories. Fashion’s cult of personality has turned its most recognisable four-legged friends into stars in their own right.

- Jeffrey Yan

We all know what they represent, the things they do for us-man's best friends, loyal companions, sources of joy and warm, fuzzy feelings. But beyond that, the animals we keep are also an inextricable part of our identities; one that is tangible in living, breathing form. It might not be their intended purpose, but that doesn't make it any less true: Pets have the power to make a striking visual impact. Luisa Casati figured it out over a hundred years ago when she roamed the streets of Venice in nothing but a fur coat and her pet cheetahs on diamond-studded leashes. A woman of brilliant style who led a glittering life that later turned turbulent, she was, and remains, a fascinating creature with or without exotic animals by her side. But it's the bit about the cheetahs that is most oft-retold when it comes to anecdotes about the marchesa.

The most influential, impactful designers of the 20th century understood this power; not exactly the power of pets per se, but the power of image. The pets just play a key role in burnishing this image. It's all part of the myth and the mystique-the fashion designer as the brilliant, creative genius with his little eccentricities. Their animals were the manifestation of this eccentricity: Think of Yves Saint Laurent and his succession of French bulldogs, all named Moujik; of Valentino and his extravagant coterie of pugs. It seemed almost a prerequisite of the whole lifestyle. What's the point of having villas in Marrakech or palazzos in Rome if one isn't going to throw in a fabulous menagerie?