Long before they designed their Pre-Fall collection for Monse, Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia knew they needed dogs in the lookbook. Back in January, they began a partnership with six animal shelters in New York to help promote fostering and adopting rescue dogs. A line of dog sweaters and accessories was the logical next step—all proceeds will benefit the shelters—and the project is launching this week in tandem with Pre-Fall. The lookbook functions as something of a PSA: Each photo includes a dog in need of a home (with the exception of Louise, Monse’s office dog and unofficial mascot, who makes a few cameos). Even the models they cast are dog lovers: McKenna Hellam, Cat McNeil, and Lameka Fox all own rescue dogs and support local shelters. They look visibly cheered by the presence of Labrador puppies and Chihuahuas on set.
The timing of the project dovetails nicely with the holidays, and it’s joined by a special Disney collaboration. Pluto is hidden in a few prints, and Mickey appears on a striped button-down and a silky T-shirt. (Proceeds from those Disney pieces will benefit the shelters, too; they’ll be available immediately on Monse’s new e-commerce site.) As for the “regular” clothes, the dog theme got Garcia and Kim thinking about bandanas, which were blown up into asymmetrical, densely embroidered skirts and hearty trousers. They introduced Monse’s first lace, too: a cut-out tennis ball motif, a rather literal nod to your pup’s favorite toy. Another eyelet lace featured a dog that looked curiously like Louise. Dog leashes crossed over into the human collection, too, in the form of a bucket bag made of woven leashes and a silk blouse with a trompe l’oeil buckle printed on the neck ties. In shades of orange and brown, those graphic leash prints felt like a clever, tongue-in-cheek spin on the classic equestrian motif you’d find on an Hermès scarf.
Beyond the dog references, the rest of the collection was business as usual—i.e., business-y items slashed and reworked in typical Monse fashion. Maybe it was the good vibes of their charitable project, but Garcia and Kim pushed their Frankensteinian signatures in a way that yielded their most convincing results yet. A snug, razor-sharp blazer was designed to twist gently around the body and had unfinished edges so it looked like a work in progress. They sliced and draped a plaid blazer into a skirt—it looked a lot easier than its complicated beginnings—and the aforementioned bandana pieces appeared elegant, not campy. All to say, even a cat lover will find something to like here.