Why Certain Fabrics Will Never Be Part of DVENTOTTO® Collections

Why Certain Fabrics Will Never Be Part of DVENTOTTO® Collections

Any fashion designer knows how exciting it is to choose fabrics for a new creation. The touch beneath your fingers, the texture as you rub the fabric to understand how it behaves, how it feels against your skin — and suddenly your mind starts swirling with a kaleidoscope of designs you can't wait to bring to life.

Believe it or not, when I design for dogs, I feel exactly the same.

But precisely because my clients are dogs, I have to put those wonderful sensations aside for a moment and focus on them.

Their skin. Their coat. Their body shape.

And that's when my mind really starts spinning with creations.

The dog's skin

Canine skin is structurally different from human skin. It is thinner and has fewer epidermal cell layers, while performing essential barrier and protective functions.

That difference matters when we put clothing over it.

A fabric may look beautiful, but when it sits against a dog's body, I am far more interested in its breathability, heat and moisture retention, friction and how it behaves during prolonged contact.

This becomes even more important for dogs with sensitive skin or a predisposition to dermatological problems. Heat, trapped moisture and repeated friction can contribute to irritation and aggravate an already compromised skin barrier.

For me, breathability isn't a feature to add to a product description. It is one of the criteria a fabric has to meet.

Dog Coats

Then there is the coat — and there is no single "dog coat".

A short, close coat behaves very differently beneath clothing from a long coat. A curly coat presents different considerations again, as does a dense double coat.

On a short-coated dog, there is relatively little hair separating the garment from the skin.

With longer coats, the surface that comes into contact with the hair matters. Friction can contribute to tangling and matting.

Curly coats require particular consideration because materials that create friction against the curl can encourage knots.

Dense and double coats already provide considerable insulation, so adding a garment means considering what is already happening beneath it — not simply choosing a warm fabric because the weather is cold.

Different coats create different requirements.

Fabrics

And this is where my research comes in.

When I consider a textile for DVENTOTTO®, I study its composition and properties: its weight, structure, breathability, surface and intended use. I consider how those characteristics will interact with canine skin and different types of coat.

Fabric choice is the result of that research. It isn't a fashion decision.

Sometimes a beautiful fabric works as an exterior but isn't something I want sitting directly against the dog's coat. In that case, the lining becomes just as important as the fabric everyone sees.

Sometimes a textile simply doesn't meet my criteria.

This is why there are materials you will never find against the dog's skin in a DVENTOTTO garment.

Wool will never be used as an inner lining. Selected wools, such as Harris Tweed, may be used on the exterior of a garment, but they are always separated from the dog's skin and coat by a carefully selected lining.

I don't use fleece as a lining. I don't use nylon against the coat. And I don't use rough mesh.

These aren't aesthetic decisions. There are beautiful examples of all these materials.

They are simply not materials I choose to place against a dog's skin and coat.

No matter how beautiful a fabric is, if it doesn't meet my criteria, I won't use it.

Because colour can be changed. Patterns come and go. Trends certainly come and go.

The dog's skin and coat don't.

And that is why certain fabrics will never be part of a DVENTOTTO collection.

DVENTOTTO® — Design House for Dogs. Made in Italy.

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