The Dogue days of summer: When Vogue transformed into Dogue

In a Changing of the Guard that only fashion could envision, the blood-orange bikinis of August become the burgundy-red overcoats of September. Whilst this seems to be done in one swift action, the 31 August melting into the 1 September, the calendar page being ripped out to reveal leaves the colour of flames, there is, in fact, some liminal space between the two.

I like to call this space ‘Pre-Fashion Month’. Far from the black-coffee-fuelled marathons of creativity that are September, or fashion month to those who celebrate, are the sultry dog days of summer where snoozing under the sun is the only priority. But in falling into this slumber, fashion itself has gone to the dogs.

Literally. On 14 August, Vogue unveiled a digital cover project unlike any other. For these were not Vogue covers, but Dogue covers, with each one – and there are 14 – giving 16 celebri-dogs the supermodel treatment.

Dogue succeeds in making man’s best friend fetch.

From Glen Powell’s Brisket, Hollywood’s hottest dog of Twisters premiere fame, who is photographed grabbing a bite to eat at Carney’s Restaurant in L.A., still wearing his bow tie from the night before (how very Hollywood), to the ice queen, and Dogue Editor-in-Chief, Anna Wintour’s goldendoodles, Radley, Harper, and Finch, caught off-duty at home, Dogue succeeds in making man’s best friend fetch.

This is unsurprising given that Vogue has been capturing portraits of pooches for decades – in fact, it was the treasure trove that is the Condé Nast Archive itself that inspired the project. From Coco Chanel and her Great Dane, Gigot, who graced the April 1931 issue, to Azzedine Alaïa and his Yorkshire Terriers, shot by Arthur Elgort in February 1986, our four-legged friends have never strayed too far from the pages of Vogue.

Or for that matter, from the catwalk: Hector, designer Thom Browne’s Dachshund and cover star of Dogue, has inspired a collection of accessories crafted in his likeness, whilst Oliver, Valentino Garavani’s pug, was the muse for Valentino’s diffusion line. Fashion may presume felinity – think kitten heels and pussy bows – but the industry has been sure to avoid barking up the wrong tree.

Dogue covers content that conforms to Vogue’s typical material, with Vogue editors recommending the doggy essentials they cannot live without

Including in this special project. Within its digital ‘pages’, Dogue covers content that conforms to Vogue’s typical material, with Vogue editors recommending the doggy essentials they cannot live without, alerting readers to the latest scientific beauty developments, that now include perfume for dogs, and covering features such as ‘The Charmed Lives of Art Dogs,’ which explores how seven artists have adapted to a life that is equal parts pawprints as it is paintbrushes.

Yet in between this normality is a madness that is seldom seen in Vogue: each cover story, written about the celebri-dogs with a vigour often reserved for profiles à la ‘Frank Sinatra Has A Cold’, which is slightly bizarre in and of itself, contains a confessional Q&A section ‘from’ the dogs themselves. Mariah Carey’s Jack Russell terriers are asked what their astrological signs are (Cha Cha Carey is a Leo), whilst Ayo Edebri’s Chihuahua’s catchphrase would be: “I’m a gay, divorced entertainment lawyer who was turned into a dog by a former client of mine who discovered I was skimming a bit of the top, but I wasn’t aware she was a witch.” Vogue may be a ‘high fashion’ magazine, but Dogue really takes the biscuit.

In this project, however, 14 inspired covers were created, featuring 16 dogs, all ahead of the mania of fashion month and the September issue

Until, that is, you consider the scale and the quality of this cover project. Conflicting diaries, high standards, and tight deadlines conspire together to make every cover a mammoth task. And that is when you are working with people!

In this project, however, 14 inspired covers were created, featuring 16 dogs, all ahead of the mania of fashion month and the September issue, the most important issue in the fashion year. Whilst Vogue has recently come under fire for supposedly lacking ambition in its cover shoots, especially in comparison to the boundary-pushing work of Vogue China, Dogue proves that the well of inspiration at the heart of the fashion industry has yet to dry up.

Rather than pursuing the beast that is fashion month as it awakens, Dogue embraces those sleepy dwindling days of summer, producing a digital project of another kind of beast – man’s best friend – in a manner that is unparalleled in both scale and execution. After all, every dog must have its day, and this is certainly one of Vogue’s.