Bookings of cat models for fashion editorials and ads has doubled over the past few years. And thanks to the recent rise fashion's most famous cat, Choupette , the glamorization of cats probably won't stop anytime soon.
Choupette in the forthcoming September issue of V, with Laetitia Casta. Spread styled by Carlyne Cerf de Douzeele and shot by Karl Lagerfeld. The issue hits stands August 30; see the full spread on Vmagazine.com.
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Forget retouching. Forget naked women. Getting people to look at fashion photography these days is as simple as adding a cat. Over the past few years felines have become some of the most popular and celebrated fashion models, appearing regularly in magazines like Elle and Vogue, and in ads for brands like Lanvin and Dolce & Gabbana.
Source: bombayandburmesecats.com
"I think they're really seen and respected as a creature of beauty and elegance, and sometimes sensuality, because of their beautiful, stealthy bodies," says Cathryn Long, an agent from All Creatures Great and Small, which represents animals for acting and modeling work. "They're really so much more highly regarded and appreciated than they ever used to be." Her talent roster includes all kinds of animals — sloths, pigeons, dogs, horses, snakes, you name it — but she says that over the past few years, her bookings of cats for fashion work have doubled. "Really there's nothing that is not touched by cats anymore. Before it might have just been [ads for] cat food or cat litter. Now it's not." If cats aren't appearing in fashion magazines, they're probably adding warmth to a scene of a family in a Verizon commercial, for instance.
Sarah Cristobal, editor of the edgy fashion magazine V, says cats are "back on the brain" among her fellow editors. "Definitely, people in the office have been like, 'I should get a cat,'" she says. "[Cats'] personalities do match the fashion set — they're beautiful and graceful but also kind of finicky." Also, they're the most viewed animal on the internet and — in an age when many fashion companies are trying to get their fashion films and ad images to go viral — the wit, humor, and chicness of cats just makes sense.
