Designer dogs help seasonal strays

Canine models strut the catwalk at a special London designer fashion show to help raise funds for homeless hounds

Designer dogwear hit the catwalk last night at the charity canine fashion show dubbed “Haute Couture Hounds”.

Organised by the National Canine Defence League, the show featured 31 NCDL dogs from its Horsham rehoming centre, led by scantily-clad models, including TVs Amanda Holden andPatsy Palmer.

Among the leading London designers who contributed to this unique canine collection were Jasper Conran, Issey Miyake, Ben de Lisi, Ozwald Boateng, Vivienne Westwood and Bruce Oldfield.

The aim was to raise funds to enable the NCDL, the largest dog welfare charity in Britain, to cope with the annual post-Christmas flood of homeless dogs.

The event also highlighted the charity’s well known phrase – ” A Dog is for Life, Not Just For Christmas – coined by the charity’s chief-executive, Clarissa Baldwin, 23 years ago,.

Despite annual campaigns to help raise public awareness of the plight of abandoned dogs, the charity picked up 110,000 stray dogs last year, with the busiest time of year being January.Chief-executive of the Kennel Club and trustee to the NCDL, Roger French said: “With campaign promotions like these, we hope to be able to reduce that number.The canine outfits, which included collars, leads and boots, as well as tailored coats and jumpers were spectacular .

Among the 22 lots on offer was a French Connection denim and diamante coat with sheepskin lining which was bought by Eastenders’ Wendy Richard for £180.

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