Pooches, Purses and Palermos: See Inside The Jimmy Choo Pre Fall 15 Capsule Collection

When it comes to tea parties, it doesn’t get much better than those hosted by Olivia Palermo and Sandra Choi. Held at the The Ivy Chelsea Garden on Kings Road, Jimmy Choo hosted a private tea party to celebrate the launch of the Pre Fall 2015 collection, designed in collaboration with artist Rafael Mantesso featuring, of course, his English Bull Terrier “Jimmy Choo”.

Guests including Zara Martin, Bip Ling and Made in Chelsea’s Rosie Fortescue (plus her infamous pooch Noodle, of course) snacked on bone biscuits, paw print lattes and Slush Puppies. Likewise the stars canine counterparts could drink from the dedicated doggy water fountain, and play dress-up in a photo booth. Even Tuna from @tunameltsmyheart made an appearance! (A.K.A the dog that has over 1.4 million followers on Instagram. Yes, really.)

So what’s the story behind the collab? After finding himself alone in an empty flat following a divorce, Mantesso filled the void by illustrating his hound. After much careful positioning (and no doubt, a few meaty bribes) his namesake pooch was snapped and carefully sketched, thus the artistic partnership was born. Transforming personal misfortune into hilarity, Mantesso’s witty and tender sketches soon became an Internet sensation (via his instagram account @rafaelmantesso) and swiftly caught the attention of Jimmy Choo’s Creative Director, Sandra Choi.

“All of a sudden, I had friends from all over the world forwarding me links to Rafael’s enchanting work,” Sandra explains. “I was instantly charmed by the way he animated his captivating dog into his artwork. I had never seen anything like it! His work is so playful, clever and witty, and we struck up an immediate friendship online. I just knew that I had to incorporate his work into a collection.”

Sandra was so taken by the whimsical illustrations that she approached the artist directly to commission him to create a series of fun, tongue-in-cheek designs that now decorate the limited edition designs.

The totes, cosmetic bags and handbag pouches all feature a series of exclusive sketches; from Jimmy Choo relaxing on the sofa with a martini, to daydreaming of shoes and even DJing on the decks. Plus with the sketches juxtaposed against bright pops of colour in hot pink, copper and electric blue, these pooch-covered purses are guaranteed to stand out from the crowd. For true pet-loving fashion fanatics the launch also premiered two styles of dog collars, ensuring hound and human are equally well accessorised.

Check out the images of yesterdays event in the gallery below, and scroll down further to see an exclusive clip of the Pre Fall 15 collection staring Jimmy Choo in all his canine glory.