Photo: Petfluencer

By THÉRÈSE MARGOLIS

Whether it is on the runway or in ad campaigns, dogs are definitely leaving their paw prints on Mexico’s fashion industry, and puppy aficionados the nation over are being bow-wow-wowed by the results.

Indeed, the pet industry is booming in Mexico despite the current economic turndown, and by some estimates pet owners in the country spend an astonishing $20 billion a year on pet related goods and services.

So it was no surprise that more than 200 people turned out for the puppy catwalk at the upscale Colonia Polanco’s Parque Machado in the heart of Mexico City on Thursday, June 1, as pedigree poochies strutted the exclusive collections of the newly opened Petfluencer boutique.

Petfluencer, the only luxury concept store for well-heeled (okay, make that well-pawed) puppies and oh-so-cool cats in all of Mexico City, was the brainchild of entrepreneur and pet aficionado Gerardo Septién, who decided to make doggie design and feline style the hallmarks of his new venture.

The boutique, located right across from the Parque Machado at Ferrocarril de Cuernavaca 416, was conceptualized by interior decorator Lily Duclaud along a pirate-themed story based on Peter Pan, and offers elite clothing pairings for pets and owners from both Mexican and international designers.

For the premiere spring/summer collection, Petfluencer invited Guadalajara rising star designer Jasive Fernández to create mother-daughter-puppy outfits that encompassed elegant frills and pleats in somber, predominantly black-and-white silhouettes accentuated by regal purples and robust reds that were as flattering to the humans as they were to the pups.