PHOTOS: At the Pet Gala, fashion goes to dogs

NEW YORK — You may call it a catwalk, but the Pet Gala is the dogs’ time to shine.

Designer Anthony Rubio threw the now-annual fashion party on Monday night, sending 18 dogs down the red carpet at the American Kennel Club Museum of the Dog in New York. Each canine donned a similar couture to what celebrities wore to the Met Gala just two weeks prior.

“I want people to understand that we are not making fun of the Met Gala. We are not imitating the Met Gala,” Rubio said. “We are elevating, evaluating and appreciating the wonderful designs that were presented at the Met Gala by the world’s most talented designers.”

At $300 a ticket, proceeds from the Pet Gala benefit the host museum — just as its human counterpart uptown serves as a fundraiser for the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Most of the furry fashionistas were tiny – even Chris Hemsworth’s role was played by a shih tzu – although there was a Leonberger in the mix. Some of the Met Gala’s most talked-about stars were represented: Daffodil the Pomeranian as Jennifer Lopez, Kimba the chihuahua in one of Zendaya’s looks, Miley-Jo the Chorkie as Cardi B and Bastian the terrier as Colman Domingo. The dress code for this year’s gala was Garden of Time, in keeping with the Met’s “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” exhibition.

The dogs’ clothes will be stored at the Dog Museum through the month of June, Rubio said.

“Every photographer says it’s the hardest job to work on… with children and animals. Not in my world,” said Rubio, who worked “tirelessly” to adapt the clothes in the short space of time. “I think it’s a lot harder to work with people because dogs don’t complain. In my world, dogs don’t complain. Don’t be forced to use what you don’t want to use.”

Unlike Messi the dog’s turn last week on the Cannes carpet, the red carpet at the AKC Museum was not left untouched. This is not something you would see at the Met Gala.

But Rubio had a message for the Met Gala impresario: “Now, I have to say that I would love — if Anna Wintour is listening — I would love to be the first to walk the red carpet with a canine model in canine couture. . Just spreading the word.

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For more coverage of the Met, Debt and Pet Galas, visit