BARKINISTAS UNLEASHED
By: Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger Photographer: George Whylie Videographer: Maxine NolanOn Thursday evening, April 19th, a stylish audience was treated to a pooch’s parade as dogs strutted down the runway at the Katie Murphy Amphitheater on 7th Avenue and 27th Street in New York City.
This marks FIT’s fourth annual fashion show starring our furry friends. The show was appropriately presented as “Barkinistas Unleashed”. It was a night of howling good fun presented by The School of Professional and Continuing Studies at The Fashion Institute of Technology and the team behind all the fun fashions were the Pet Product Design & Marketing Certificate Students. Tickets for the show were sold to benefit the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC animals.
There was something for every hungry hound to savor in. Leashes were designed to be admired in brilliant and vivid colors and a far cry from the traditional leash. Does your dog have to make a bathroom run but the weather just doesn’t want to cooperate? The clear plastic raincoat with deep blue trim will work fine to stay dry and look divine. Dress for success in a pink Burberry type turtleneck harness with blue collar.
A mini-poodle gave the performance of her life in a peach and black lace dress. Her next outfit was a rich-looking reddish-orange and gold cape proudly modeled. The night would not have been complete without the silky couture gown completed with a pink bow and worn by a tiny beauty who had no idea that she was the star of the show and ever so ‘pretty in pink’.
Dawn Deisler is the designer to watch. Her hard work and adorable designs won her the “Best of Fashion Award” for the second time. She made use of natural materials such as leather and snakeskin and turned them into pieces of distinction. Her suede coat was at the top of the favorites in the outerwear category.
Other participating designers that took creativity to the limit were the imaginative Lauren Kmiotek, Coty Farkas inspired by the sun and the moon and rising star Adrienne Rock.
It was an evening of fashionable frolicking and tiny tempting treats. Bravo to the team of FIT that always seems to bring fashion to the forefront and puts it all together in such a fabulous way. But the real stars of the evening were the dashing dogs that hit the runway in their own graceful way and surely entertained the audience.
PHOTO CREDIT to www.nymag.com and Jennifer Weisbord
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