MILAN: Elegant, tailored outfits are not reserved just for fashionistas in Italy — couture for dogs is proving a hit with some Milan pet owners.
Man’s best friend should not be overlooked when it comes to cashmere sweaters and woollen coats, according to designer Giovanna Temellini, who enables the fashion conscious to match their style with that of their pooch.
“Everything is born out of love,” says the 57-year-old, who has been in the fashion industry for 25 years working for labels such as Bottega Veneta and Armani and is an active supporter of animal welfare groups.
One evening just under a year ago in her workshop, Temellini recalled, her daughter said to her: “You do so many little things for all the dogs...” referring to her animal protection voluntary work. “But when it rains, mine gets his ears all wet,” her daughter continued.
The following evening a member of her design team set to work making a hooded coat for the pet, to match the winter jacket of Temellini’s daughter.
From there sprung her made-to-measure fashion line just for dogs entitled Temellini Dog A Porter, with its first shop opening this month.
Her staff use a dog-shaped mannequin to create a range of sizes for different breeds, including dobermans, basset hounds and greyhounds.
But for each commission, the canine customer has its measurements taken to ensure a snug fit.
One dark grey jacket from her dogs’ range sports a high collar with buttons down the front, with the fabric matching a woman’s over-sized coat from Temellini’s main collection, for women, which she began 15 years ago.
But the focus on high-quality fabrics and stylish cuts means a cashmere T-shirt costs 142 euros ($171), a merino wool bomber jacket 212 euros and a coat with small pockets 252 euros.
One customer snapped up an entire wardrobe for his dog, adopted from a shelter, because after what she had been through, “she deserved it.”
Twenty-four year-old student, Beatrice Gerevini, who likes to coordinate her dog’s outfit with her own, said it helps the pair to “create a connection.”
It is also “a sort of game, a way of being noticed — people smile when they see us.”
Temellini, who continues to do some work for other labels too, says she wants to create a collection suitable for all dogs, including those with disabilities.
“I am very respectful and attentive to all the requirements of dogs which are to be able to move, run, get dirty and socialize.
“I refuse to do something that would restrict or ridicule a dog, because they’ll be aware of it.”
Canine couture cuts a dash in Italy’s fashion capital
Canine couture cuts a dash in Italy’s fashion capital
Burkinabe teen behind viral French ‘coup’ video has no regrets
- “Coup d’etat in France,” declared the video, posted by the 17-year-old, showing what appeared to be journalists reporting on an ongoing takeover by an unidentified colonel
- Posted on December 9 on TikTok, then shortly afterwards on Facebook, the post went viral, garnering more than 12 million views and tens of thousands of “likes”
PARIS: A Burkinabe teenager who used artificial intelligence to post fake news of a French coup on Facebook got more than he bargained for.
As well as millions of views and tens of thousands of “likes,” he also acquired a certain notoriety — and French President Emmanuel Macron, for one, was not amused.
And what he had planned as a money-making scheme only netted him seven euros, he said. But he has no regrets.
“Coup d’etat in France,” declared the video, posted by the 17-year-old, showing what appeared to be journalists reporting on an ongoing takeover by an unidentified colonel.
In one shot, the Eiffel Tower and the blue lights from a police car flashed in the background.
“Demonstrators have gathered to support the colonel who seems to have taken power yesterday,” said the reporters.
It was all fake, of course: the product of his online training in the use of artificial intelligence.
Posted on December 9 on TikTok, then shortly afterwards on Facebook, the post went viral, garnering more than 12 million views and tens of thousands of “likes.”
Last Tuesday, when Macron was asked about the video during a visit to Marseille, he spoke of his frustration at not having been able to force Facebook to take it down.
They had told him that it did not violate their rules, he said.
Money-making goal
In the end, it was the creator himself who deleted it, shortly after the French news media started contacting him.
Speaking to AFP, he explained that he had got into creating AI-generated videos last year after finding a training course on YouTube. But he only really started producing in October 2025.
He was taken aback by his sudden celebrity and that the French media was reporting on and even interviewing him.
He laughed about all the fuss in a video posted to his Facebook page.
But the teenager, who preferred to remain anonymous, was clear that his real aim had been to make money from advertising attached to his posts.
Not that he was living in poverty, he added.
“I eat, I can get to school, my parents take good care of me, thank God,” he told AFP.
But he wanted more to gain “financial independence,” he added.
He had seen “loads of pages that get millions of views” and had heard that TikTok paid money to producers, so he jumped into social media to see what he could do.
After a bit of trial and error, he latched on to AI-generated fake news because it generated more online traffic.
“I haven’t yet made a lot of money that way,” he admitted.
His Facebook page was not yet monetised, though he had made a little money from TikTok.
Normally, Africa is not a region that is eligible for monetization on the platform but he said he had found a way around that.
While his viral video on the fake coup in France may not have been a moneyspinner, he has used it to promote an offer of online training in AI-generated content on Facebook.
“There are people who have got in touch with me after this video, at least five people since last week,” he said.
For one hour’s coaching, he makes 7,000 CFA francs (10 euros).
No regrets
France is frequently the target of disinformation, in particular from the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) — Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.
Since a string of military coups there, all three countries have distanced themselves from France, the former colonial power, and moved instead toward Russia.
The Burkinabe junta in particular has become adept at AI-generated propaganda videos. They have included false clips of celebrities such as singer Beyonce or Pope Leo XIV singing the praises of Ibrahim Traore, the military government’s leader.
Burkina Faso also has a group of influential cyberactivists who promote the government’s propaganda online, known as the “Rapid-Intervention Communication Battalion.”
The teenager behind the fake French coup video told AFP he was not part of that group.
But while his main motivation was far from being political, he was happy to take a passing shot at France.
“I also created this video to scare people,” he said.
Some French media personalities and politicians do not present a fair view of what is going on in Africa’s Sahel region, instead broadcasting “fake news,” he said.
He cited recent reports that the Malian capital, Bamako, was on the point of falling to jihadist forces.
Informed sources agree that if the military government there was in difficulty recently from a jihadist blockage of supply routes, it has not so far been threatened to the point of losing power.
The French authorities “have no regrets about publishing false statements on the AES,” said the teenager.
“So I’m not going to regret publishing false things about them!“
