Doing it for the dogs – Editor Nina Tucker
It was late March this year while walking around a park in Rolleston that I realised I wanted to do a fashion shoot raising awareness for the greyhound rehoming programme.
The discourse around the greyhound racing ban and subsequent rehoming had ramped up, and I’d just finished reading Vogue’s April issue where a number of staff dogs had been playfully captured in a New York city fashion editorial alongside the season’s latest shoes. It was chic and engaging, painting that cool city lifestyle – designer bag in one hand, dog leash in the other – and so popular they ran it in both the American and British titles.
How would that look in Christchurch? Could we fuse one of my favourite things (fashion) with something undeniably powerful (purpose), and use Metropol’s platform to communicate a ‘greyt’ cause? Could we take something political like a greyhound racing ban and reframe it to showcase how stylish life can be when you give a retired hound a home? These elegant dogs (the supermodels of the dog world, just look at those legs) are no stranger to a fashion show; an incredible New Zealand Fashion Week team sent greyhounds strutting down the runway for the same cause last August.
Together with a team of local creatives and unwavering support from Lisa Philp and the Greyhounds As Pets organisation, that vision came to life on a Saturday in June.
It was fun and fast-paced as we moved from the Bridge of Remembrance and nearby bench seats to the middle of Cashel Mall and OGB’s distinctive brickwork. Photographed by Angelica Dumaguin and styled by Skye Zöfia Marryatt, with talent Tessa and Jorja from Portfolio Model Agency, plus greyhounds Patch and Mason, this fashion editorial invites you into a world where city life and style is every bit better with man’s best friend at your side. Because when canine meets clothing, what’s not to love? Find our six-page feature on page 20.
For information on adopting, head to page 62.
