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Fashion’s Favorite Pets



eptember sees not only the start of the women’s wear fashion season, but also the beginning of the fashion book season. As fall unfurls, glossy and gorgeous coffee table books appear: Grace Coddington’s “Grace: The American Vogue Years”; Alix Browne’s “Runway: The Spectacle of Fashion”; and Donatella Versace’s “Versace,” to name a few.
Yet among them, one stands out: “Neville Jacobs: I’m Marc’s Dog,” a compilation of photographs taken by Nicolas Newbold of Marc Jacobs’s dog, a.k.a. Neville Jacobs.
Neville, the latest furry fashion friend to hit the big time, joins Karl Lagerfeld’s cat Choupette and Thom Browne’s miniature dachshund Hector as a star on the rise. They have their own social media followings, eating habits and daily routines. Think of them as the supermodels of the pet set. Here’s how they compare.

Neville Jacobs, bull terrier

Age: 4 years old
Owner: Marc Jacobs
Instagram: @nevillejacobs, which has more than 194,000 followers
Big break: A little over three years ago, the model Cara Delevingne posted an image of herself, mouth and wrists covered in tape, sitting inside of a cage, on top of which posed a regal Neville. The photograph went out to her millions of followers accompanied by a caption that read: “Being kept hostage by @nevillejacobs help me!”
Major media moment(s): Neville appeared on the cover of Paper magazine in November 2015 and on the cover of Architectural Digest in September 2016
Best friend: Mr. Newbold’s French bulldog, Charlie
Daily life: Neville spends his days at the Marc Jacobs headquarters, often joining models at work. “If there’s a set of lights and a tripod, he’ll go right to set and sit and look,” Mr. Newbold said, adding that Neville is a bit of a ham.
Neville has even starred in campaigns for Book Marc, which sells books and related accessories under the Marc Jacobs umbrella.
Books about him: “Neville Jacobs: I’m Marc’s Dog.” Apparently, the book’s publisher sought out Neville. “Someone mentioned that a Rizzoli representative was looking to get in touch with Neville, which was hilarious,” Mr. Newbold said.
Friendliness level: Very high. “Neville doesn’t like to play favorites,” Mr. Newbold said. “He’ll snuggle up to anyone.”
Food habits: Indiscriminate. “If you have food and a beating heart, he’ll love you,” Mr. Newbold said.
Karl Lagerfeld with a painting of his cat Choupette last year.Jens Kalaene/DPA, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Choupette, Birman cat

Age: 5 years old
Owner: Karl Lagerfeld
Instagram: Choupette doesn’t use Instagram or Twitter, but she has inspired a satirical account called @choupettesdiary, which has more than 86,000 followers. “Most humans are envious of this cat’s lifestyle,” said Ashley Tschudin, who created the account in 2012 and insists that she absolutely does not work for Mr. Lagerfeld.
Big break: In an interview with The Independent, Karl Lagerfeld declared that Choupette was the “most famous cat in the world.”
Major media moment(s): Choupette was the subject of a photo spread in i-D magazine and of a Harper’s Bazaar feature. She has also modeled with Laetitia Casta in V Magazine and with Linda Evangelistain German Vogue.
Best friend: Mr. Lagerfeld says he is Choupette’s favorite person. One of her caretakers, Françoise, is a close second. But there may be competition for the top spot. “I get a lot of people who want Choupette to date their cat,” Ms. Tschudin said. “People send me photos of their cats every day.”
Daily life: Choupette is most often in the company of Mr. Lagerfeld or the two women who are tasked with entertaining her, taking care of her white hair, putting beauty treatments on her eyes and more.
But don’t think that she spends her days lazing around. In 2015, Mr. Lagerfeld told the website The Cut that Choupette had made about 3 million euros for two modeling jobs: one for the Vauxhall Corsa car calendar, known for its 1992 commercial featuring Christy Turlington, Tatjana Patitz, Kate Moss, Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell; and another for Shu Uemura.
When she’s not working, she’s “sleeping, hiding, running and jumping like mad around the house,” Mr. Lagerfeld told i-D. “Chasing big fleas in her private garden and making it difficult for me work by jumping on the paper.”
Books about her: “Choupette: The Private Life of a High-Flying Fashion Cat”
Friendliness level: Very low. “She hates other animals and she hates children,” Mr. Lagerfeld has said.
Food habits: Choupette refuses to eat on the floor, so her sustenance is placed on the table. Her meal selection includes water, a croquette and a pâté, all presented in silver dishes. “You have to serve everything, and she makes a choice,” Mr. Lagerfeld told Harper’s Bazaar.
Hector Browne, a miniature dachshund owned by Thom Browne and Andrew Bolton.Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times

Hector Browne, miniature dachshund

Owners: Thom Browne and Andrew Bolton
Age: 1½ years old
Instagram: @hectorbrowne, which has more than 2,300 followers
Big break: Mr. Browne sent a bag modeled on Hector down the runway as part of his fall 2016 collection. A newer version of the bag recently appeared in the spring 2017 collection.
Major media moment: Cathy Horyn, the critic at large for The Cut and a former New York Times fashion critic, carried the Hector Bagduring Paris Fashion Week in March to see if it would help her become a street style star.
Best friend: He doesn’t appear to have one yet. Hector is still young, after all.
Daily life: Hector likes to go on long walks with his owners in Central Park and around Lincoln Center, where they break near the Henry Moore sculptures. “He’s very pampered,” Mr. Bolton told The New York Times in April. “I don’t think he’s ever been left on his own since we got him a year ago.” Like Mr. Bolton, Hector is an insomniac.
Books about him: None — for now.
Food habits: Hector often accompanies Mr. Bolton and Mr. Browne to Lincoln Ristorante for dinner or to Nougatine for doughnuts.

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