All the glitz and glamour of haute cature went down at the cat fashion event of the season.
Carmen Miranda costume.
Image by Michael Schmidt/Buzzfeed
Last night, the Algonquin Hotel in midtown hosted a cat fashion show in honor of its famous cat, Matilda, to benefit to the NY Save, a charity that helps provide veterinary services. While the hotel’s bar is famous for its literary past, it also has a tradition of always having a cat named Matilda roam through the bar. There have been a series of cats all named Matilda since the 1930s, and the Algonquin currently employees a caretaker for Matilda with the title of CCO – Chief Cat Officer.
Matilda, who lives in the Algonquin Hotel, did not wear an outfit.
Image by Michael Schmidt/Buzzfeed
Carla Reiss of Meow Wear Custom designed and sewed all the outfits, creating each outfit to measure for each cat. Her favorite of the costumes was the Carmen Miranda number, but she admitted, “I’ve always wanted to dress a basset hound as Carmen Miranda.”
A stunning hairless sphinx named Fiona wore a flattering ensemble that evoked a fairy princess with an avant garde taffetta headpiece. At one year old, Fiona is now old enough to be competing as an adult in cat shows (the cutoff age for the kitten category is 8 months) with her human companion, Emily Green of Philadelphia. "She's been trained since she was little. She's been to a lot of shows. She's a regional winner," Ms. Green explained. "One judge said she's the most beautiful sphinx she'd ever seen."
