Gucci for pets lands with adorable portraits from Max Siedentopf

A miniature geometric G dog sofa, a Radura print feeding mat, a tiny mohair wool hat in the shape of a strawberry; these are just some of the products you can now purchase for a furry friend in the Gucci Pet Collection, launched this week. Adorable, luxurious and outrageous, we’d expect nothing less from Gucci, but for the campaign, creative force Max Siedentopf is going for a more stripped back route. The art direction lets the personalities of each pet shine, an approach inspired by Alessandro Michele’s vision of individuality.

The campaign set up is simple: photographs show animals modelling products, like a pet wool-blend sweater, set against a bold studio background colour. But within these confines, “each animal’s personality comes to the fore”, Max writes in a recent post on Instagram. This minimal backdrop allows for all manner of creative stars to align. For example, retro-inspired pieces sit in perfect synergy with some inventive, 80s-esque grooming – look out for a poodle haircut that could serve as inspiration for a cracking perm. Resembling mall-style family portraits, the campaign features an inspired use of lighting, often leaving a halo of fluff around its subjects so that mohair blends with soft fuzz or polo knit with a glossy coat.

Though the set-up seems simple, we can only imagine the issues working with multiple animals on set throws up; while the group shots of lounging sausage dogs seem soporific, the process of keeping things that way likely wasn’t. Props must also be given to the expressive modelling served by many of the pets, with an infectiously happy corgi, doe-eyed dalmatian and bored cat getting top marks.

It makes sense that such a project would be handed to Siedentopf. This year alone, his signature fusion of fashion and irreverence has delivered the likes of Pleasure Portraits, a makeup photography series that, not unlike the Pet Collection, saw each model’s personality encapsulated with an ice cream flavour. Peruse the selection of Calypso and wafer-inspired looks here. Max is a frequent collaborator with the luxury fashion brand; he worked extensively with Gucci on the campaigns surrounding Vault – the brand’s experimental online space envisioned.

Even if you don’t quite have the £5,710 spare for a Herbarium pet bed right now, take a look through the Gucci Pet Collection campaign for a dose of cuteness or, for the bold, haircut inspiration.