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Etsy has teamed up with Rachel Antonoff, Susan Alexandra and independent sellers on a playful pet collection unveiled at New York Fashion Week
Key Takeaways
Etsy partnered with Susan Alexandra and Rachel Antonoff on a limited-edition collection created for pets and their owners.
Independent Etsy sellers helped create playful products including matching jewellery, pet collars, a doggy diaper bag and a beaded poop-bag holder.
The collection debuted at the designers’ third annual Best in Show event at New York Fashion Week, with pieces available to purchase directly from Etsy.
The partnership marks Etsy’s third move into Fashion Week and continues its efforts to connect independent sellers with wider cultural moments.
A beaded poop-bag holder, matching necklaces and even a strawberry yarmulke might not be the first things that come to mind when you think of New York Fashion Week, but Etsy’s latest collaboration has made sure pets are dressed for the occasion too.
The online marketplace partnered with designers Rachel Antonoff and Susan Alexandra on the first merchandise collection created for Best in Show, their annual runway show and adoptable dog pageant. Co-designed with independent Etsy sellers, the nine-piece range brings the designers’ prints and motifs together with handmade beading, crochet and knitwear, offering everything from dog-walking accessories and pet toys to matching pieces for animals and their owners.
Rachel Antonoff and Susan Alexandra combined their design styles for the first Best in Show merchandise collection
Rachel Antonoff and Susan Alexandra have hosted Best in Show, a New York Fashion Week runway show and adoptable dog pageant, for three years, but this is the first time they have designed a collection together. Working with Etsy as the event’s official creative partner this year, the pair co-created the nine-piece range with independent sellers, with selected products using the same prints and motifs seen across their newest fashion collections. One piece also combines Rachel’s playful prints with Susan’s signature beading, bringing both designers’ styles together within the same product.
As dog owners themselves, Rachel and Susan designed the collection around the different ways people include pets in their everyday lives and important celebrations. The range moves from practical products, including a doggy diaper bag and floral beaded pouch, to crochet hats, coordinating necklaces, a matching pet collar and human scarf, a Christmas stocking and a strawberry dog yarmulke, giving owners several ways to dress, celebrate and share experiences with their pets.
Independent Etsy sellers used crochet, knitting, beading and painting to bring the designers’ ideas to life
Although Susan Alexandra and Rachel Antonoff give the collaboration a clear fashion identity, the involvement of independent makers ensures the collection still feels recognisably Etsy. Each seller was able to bring their own techniques and product specialisms to the partnership, resulting in a range that incorporates knitting, crochet, beading and hand painting.
5LoavesCo created the pet diaper bag and puffer jacket toy, while Wuulie produced a matching merino wool scarf and pet collar set, as well as a hand-knitted Christmas stocking. BaggedandBeaded contributed the floral beaded pet pouch, LuckyPennyJo designed coordinating necklaces for pets and their owners, and DebbieCrochets made the strawberry yarmulke. The collection also features a hand-painted and beaded leash frame from BartsBeads and a crochet pet beanie from BootScootinCrochet.
Importantly, the makers remain visible within the collaboration, with each product linked to the Etsy shop responsible for creating it. This allows the attention generated by the designers and New York Fashion Week to lead customers towards individual creative businesses, while demonstrating the variety of highly specific products available across Etsy.
Daniel “Monty” Montalto, VP of Brand Marketing at Etsy, explained: “Our family dog Bobby, a 3-year-old rescue sheepadoodle, is so much more than a pet. He’s family. And that reflects how so many of us think about our pets today: they’re part of everything we do and celebrate, from holidays and milestones to everyday rituals. Increasingly, people are looking for ways to make those moments feel as personal as the bond they share with their pets.”
Why The PR Insider loves it
We love how Etsy has used one of fashion’s biggest events to place independent sellers at the centre of the collaboration, while also showing people exactly why they might visit its marketplace instead of turning to a larger retailer.
The collection is filled with products that are playful enough to attract attention, from a beaded poop-bag holder to a strawberry dog yarmulke, but they also reflect the highly specific things people search for on Etsy. As pets increasingly become part of family celebrations, traditions and everyday routines, independent makers can respond with products that are unlikely to appear in a conventional pet shop.
Rachel Antonoff and Susan Alexandra feel particularly well suited to the partnership because their work is already colourful, playful and often shaped by humour. Their prints and motifs give the products a clear connection to the Fashion Week runway, while the skills of the Etsy sellers make each idea feel handmade and individual.
We also like that the campaign directs the attention generated by Best in Show back towards the businesses involved. Someone might initially discover the collection because of the designers, the event or the adoptable dogs, but they can then visit the individual seller responsible for creating a product and explore the rest of their shop.
It means the collaboration does more than place Etsy’s name beside two fashion designers. It uses their combined audiences and the wider interest surrounding New York Fashion Week to demonstrate what independent sellers can create, giving those businesses greater visibility while showing customers the unusual and personal products they can find across the marketplace.
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