Susan Alexandra and Rachel Antonoff Hosted a Dog Fashion Show

Months ago I ran into designer Susan Korn of beaded bag Susan Alexandra fame, on the street and she asked me if she could potentially cast my pug, Björk, in her upcoming fashion show she was still dreaming up with fellow designer Rachel Antonoff. It would be a dog show of sorts, she explained. As a longtime friend of mine, Korn always saw the It factor in Björk since she first met her as a pup in her Orchard street store nearly four years ago and so I told her when the time comes, her people could call Björk’s people (me).

As it turns out, Björk’s people was the very reason she was disqualified from participating in Susan Alexandra and Rachel Antonoff’s Best in Show runway, which took place off-calendar on the first day of New York Fashion Week. As Korn explained, “Well, she has a family!” and every dog who walked was a shelter dog in need of a home, provided by Animal Haven and Muddy Paws. When I explained this to Björk she reacted with the same detached nonchalance that gives her that untouchable supermodel quality, although she seemed pleased to still receive an invite to attend as a guest instead of as talent.

At the show, a cast of New York characters like Alison Roman and Tavi Gevinson, as well as actors and comedians like Chris Fleming and Sandra Bernhard, wore pieces like Rachel Antonoff’s coats covered in bow-tie pasta print while simultaneously cradling beaded Susan Alexandra bags and walking their pups with colorful beaded leashes from the pet collection. And yet the dogs, of course, put almost all of them to shame, while wearing small leopard print cowboy hats and shirts adorned with iconic New York food staples like the blue and white coffee cup and a pile of bagels. What is a New York character after all, without an iconic dog that looks like it has its own walk in closet?

In a release following the show, Antonoff said, “I think this show is going to be so profoundly memorable, deranged and moving. We cannot wait for people to see the world we are creating; imagine a classic dog show, set in heaven with light touches borrowed from the chicest parts of hell.” Indeed nearly every guest around me, while not grinning from ear-to-ear or sitting with their mouths agape, compared what we were witnessing as the closest they’ve felt to dying and seeing the promising pearly gates of heaven. As guests came to pet the dogs following the show, I overheard one guest say, “This is what I want to see when I go.” Same.

Björk trying to woo the judges of the competition from her seat with her very best best-in-show eyes.

But that’s always the reaction with any Susan Alexandra show or Rachel Antonoff event. Not that it necessarily reminds people of their mortality, but more so about the joy of just being alive and having a good laugh. Both designers possess a similar POV and sense of humor that feels entirely New York. And while lots of people love to get up in arms and argue about how New York Fashion Week has gone to the dogs, Korn and Antonoff are here to say if that’s the case, then so be it. Maybe it’s actually a good thing—as long as bedazzled accessories, food themed clothing items, and actual dogs are involved.

Tara Gonzalez is the Senior Fashion Editor at Harper’s Bazaar. Previously, she was the style writer at InStyle, founding commerce editor at Glamour, and fashion editor at Coveteur.