Baroque Gold

Baroque Gold is unapologetic. Gold silk printed with black scrollwork, heavy medallion chains stacked at the throat, leopard print, and light that is warm enough to make all of it burn.

The reference is the Italian maximalist houses, and specifically the baroque prints that have been recycled through fashion for forty years: gilded scrolls, chains, classical motifs, everything turned up until restraint stops being a consideration. It is a look that only works if it is committed to completely, which is why there is no muted version of this style.

The two ways we shoot it are genuinely different. One sets the animal against black behind a large gilded baroque scroll motif, symmetrical and decorative, so the portrait reads almost like an altarpiece. The other drops the scrollwork for a flat sweep of deep emerald and leans on leopard print silk and stacked gold instead, which comes out warmer and considerably funnier.

The reason it suits pets so well is that animals cannot look self conscious. A person dressed like this is making a statement about themselves. A dog dressed like this is just a dog, and the gap between the seriousness of the styling and the total innocence of the subject is where the whole thing becomes charming rather than tacky.

It is the best of these for a big personality, and for anyone whose pet has always behaved as though the house belongs to them.