Fashion's next big thing? The luxury pet market

With 88 million households in Europe owning a pet it is no wonder luxury brands are targeting the upper echelon of the market to sell high-end accessories and haute couture pet wear. Gucci, Prada, Versace, Missoni, Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren, Hermes, most catwalk houses will allocate a small collection to man’s four-legged friend. Some even design breed-specific items, as if to signify the importance of fit. The impetus, of course, is craftsmanship, which must be on par with that of ‘regular’ sized accessories.

Pets in designer gear?

Luxury pet wear is profitable. Figures from FEDIAF, the European Pet Food Industry, show that services and non-food products are worth a staggering 21.2 billion euros per annum. In Europe, the top five countries with the most pets (dogs) per capita are Russia, Germany, Italy, the UK and Poland. Research from eMarketer estimates the global pet market will grow to be worth 270 billion dollars by 2025, of which the luxury segment is worth 27 billion dollars.

Dressed for all seasons

In cold weather, your Fido might want to be clothed in a Moncler Genius dog coat, a Missoni intarsia knit sweater, or a Dsquared2 x Poldo dog denim couture jacket. The latter is currently available at FarFetch for 320 euros.

The Milan-based Poldo Dog Couture company has collaborated with many luxury houses, including Moncler and DSquared2. The company’s co-founder Riccardo Gardoni told Pambianco News the brand was born from the need to dress his dachshund Poldo with functional and above all quality products. “Having always worked in fashion, we decided after having carefully analysed the pet market and noting a great potential, to invest before others. Our strengths have been to focus on Made in Italy and collaborations with luxury brands that have allowed us to make the brand known to an international audience almost immediately, and at the same time sell our collection via our own online channels.” In the first 7 months of 2021 Poldo Dog Couture achieved a 207 percent increase in sales compared to the same period in 2020.

Attention to detail

A nylon Prada dog collar is made with the same technical allure as its hand bags and accessories, and there is no skimping on the hardware. The Prada enamel triangle logo is also conspicuously visible to make the collar instantly recognisable. A Prada dog puffer coat displays the same attention to detail as a human-sized jacket, but comes with snap closures to make dressing quick and easy.

At Versace, only the best should be allocated to your furry friend, with no luxury spared. You can Versacify your pet’s life with beds in different sizes (its barocco print dog print cushion bed costs 1,045 euros). A gold studded Medusa logo leash set with matching collar will set you back 545 euros, but your pet will be the envy of the park, as worn by Audrey Versace, Donatella’s Jack Russell, who also has her own Instagram account with over 28,000 followers.

For those with unlimited budgets, Louis Vuitton’s pet carrier in its monogrammed canvas costs 2,230 euros and is perfect for small animals who like to travel in style. It is both water an and scratch resistant and equipped with a breathable mesh window and zip-around closure.

Elsewhere Fendi, Armani, Hermes and Valentino all have accessories dedicated to man’s best friend. Valentino offers customisation as part of its Rockstud Pet project, a personalised carrier with an image of your pet, handcrafted by Riccardo Cusimano for the cost of 1,600 euros.

In summary, if your pet needs a cashmere sweater, water-proof coat, non-slip socks, leather harness, hat, collar, bed or feeder, it need never be far removed from luxury.