Now playing at Film Forum.
Many of the fashion world's most talented designers are devoted dog lovers, and Valentino Garavani is no exception. The master couturier whose creations have been worn by four decades of beautiful women - from Jackie Kennedy and Elizabeth Taylor to Gwyneth Paltrow and Sarah Jessica Parker - keeps a six-pack of Pugs. Milton, Monty, Maude, Margot, Maggie, and Molly are every bit as imperial as their fashion-emperor father - and equally as compelling as the other larger-than-life personae who populate this film, including Karl Lagerfeld and Andre Leon Talley.
In this absolutely riveting, irresistible documentary, directed and produced by Vanity Fair Special Correspondent Matt Tyrnauer, the Pugs steal thunder from their charming master without meaning to. But Valentino, who has no problem letting everyone know he doesn't like his thunder stolen, clearly doesn't mind. The designer dotes on his precious Pug pack, bringing them along with him almost everywhere: on a private airplane... aboard his yacht... to the atelier, where the dogs sniff around the hems of gowns-in-the-making as seamstresses busily stitch the gorgeous garments into creation.
Arrayed across the banquette of a private plane, the Pugs are fabulously fashionable frequent flyers - until a peevish flight attendant complains that they've taken her seat, at which point a few are unceremoniously lifted up by the harness onto other passengers' laps. This and other details remind us that a dog's life is still, well, a dog's life: even high-fashion hounds are not immune to ordinary indignities such as a vigorous tooth-brushing. Of course, being high-fashion hounds, these dogs end their ablutions with a fragrant finishing spray of haute eau de cologne.
Here's a special added value for fashion hounds on two legs: The filmmakers are holding a "Most Fashionable Pug" contest, judged by the great Valentino himself; the deadline to enter is April 16, and the MFP will be announced April 24. For details, go here.
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