Who let the dogs out? A new breed of pooches is barking its way to the top

Gucci

London has gone to the dogs.

They’re taking tickets to all the best shows (see Orlando Bloom’s labradoodle, Mighty, at the premiere of his new play Killer Joe), larging it at The Dorchester with Kate Moss (spotted emerging in the early hours with a papillon in her arms) and trying to steal Harry Styles’s fish and chips. Bow wow.

In his new Gucci campaign, Styles is upstaged at a chip shop in St Albans by a motley crew of mutts. The former One Direction star scrubbed up, wearing crisp tailoring and directional footwear — chunky sandals with socks. But it’s the four dogs that are attracting the attention, as they leap up for chips. Cue quips about how Styles isn’t the only one with puppy-dog eyes.

It’s a boom time to be a dog in London — you can go mutts at afternoon tea, a four-legged film screening or unwind with a spot of doga (dog yoga, obvs).

Here are the most influential hounds about town.

The Mossy posse

Kate Moss is seen with her puppy
Neil Warner / Splash News

The supermodel loves dogs so much that she has made the ultimate sacrifice for them — she’s given up high heels. She has said: “I’m having to rethink everything. You can’t walk a dog in a heel. You look ridiculous.”

She has two, Archie, a staffie cross, who was the subject of a custody battle with her ex, Jamie Hince, and a papillon, which she got last year as a puppy. Archie has been known to cramp Moss’s style on Hampstead Heath, approaching other dogs and their owners who then do a double take when they see who he is with. Never complain, never explain. The papillon is no basic bitch, in fact she’s a rare miniature spaniel, worth around £1,000 — perhaps that’s why Moss usually carries her around, tucked in safely so no one can make a grab for her.

Doggy drama

Orlando Bloom with his doggy
Rex Features

Orlando Bloom is rarely seen without Mighty, a labradoodle whose diminutive size belies his power and charm. He was at the afterparty for Bloom’s play Killer Joe — Tracy Letts’s hard-hitting hitman cop play, which surely has a PG (pup guidance) rating.

He also rides on the front of Bloom’s motorbike and in a (doggy) bag around his neck when he is cycling.

Mighty is used to sharing the limelight with Nugget, also a labradoodle, who belongs to Bloom’s girlfriend Katy Perry. Bloom says he has never not loved dogs and used to have an English bull terrier called Maud. It’s an M thing.

The model mutts

Harry Styles in the Gucci campaign
Gucci

Gucci have issued this explanation for breaking part of the “never work with children or animals rule”. “In a narrative sequence that echoes many famous photographs and scenes from British films, Harry Styles brings his pet chicken and dog into the fish and chip shop. He orders and shares it with the animals.”

It’s a nice sentiment but beware, salty food like chips aren’t good for dogs and can cause flu-like symptoms. Fish, on the other hand, is nutritious so Styles should stick to that.

Styles is famously friends with the animals. In the video for his song Kiwi he holds a small labrador and protects it from a flying cake which has been blasted through the air. He has also been known to ask fans if he can pose with their dogs. They usually oblige.

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