Design Superstars Unleash Their Talents, Creating One-of-a-Kind Pet Collars for North Shore Animal League America’s Pet-Friendly Gala!
North Shore Animal League America is set to roll out the Green Carpet for celebrities and their pets at its upcoming, star-studded party, the Fourth Annual DogCatemy Celebrity Gala presented by Purina One(R) brand pet food. The event, taking place November 5, 2009 at Cipriani Wall Street, NYC, guarantees plenty of eye-catching fashion in the room, topped by some dazzling designs for the animals as part of the evening’s “Dollars for Designer Collars” project.
Hosted by award-winning journalist, author and host of Fox News Channel’s Geraldo at Large, Geraldo Rivera, with a performance by singer-songwriter Diane Birch, whose debut album with S-Curve Records is entitled Bible Belt, the gala features a truly unique auction. It showcases an array of one-of-a kind pet collars created by some of the most illustrious names in the design, fashion and jewelry worlds. Bidders have the opportunity to dress their animals in collars created by designers including Betsey Johnson, Nicole Miller, Isaac Mizrahi, Byron Lars, Stephen Dweck, Lela Rose, Alexis Bittar, Carmen Marc Valvo, Yigal Azrouel, Anna Sui, Christie Brinkley, Marc Bouwer, Lela Rose, Colette Malouf and many more.
The designs are part of the “Dollars for Designer Collars” project. The Animal League invited pet-loving designers to create animal collars, merging their artistic brilliance with their love of animals and desire to help the Animal League, the world’s largest no-kill animal rescue and adoption organization, save the lives of homeless animals.
The “Dollars for Designer Collars” designs range from fantasy-inspired jewel-encrusted bands to biker looks, circlets of flowers, beads, woven fabrics and sea-shells and all bear the designers’ labels and signatures. Isaac Mizrahi volunteered his design: “I loved this project because a dog has style no matter what he/she wears, especially a mixed breed. It’s one of a kind couture.”
Christie Brinkley, who fabricated a shell design, offered a tongue-in-cheek commentary on her work, saying that she created her collar for a female dog with a busy lifestyle. “It’s a versatile collar she can wear from the feeding bowl, to those long walks on the beach, and still feel confident, knowing that she always looks appropriate! Shell-encrusted, so she looks right at home in the Hamptons, yet perfect for resort too!”
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