Elevating the everyday dog walk

Gone are the days when collars, leashes and harnesses came in nothing other than standard designs.

With pet humanization as cultural zeitgeist, the expanding pet industry is creating new trends, including luxury, personalized and sustainable dog walking essentials.

Pet haute couture

Many of today’s pet owners want their dogs in particular to look fashionable, so collars, leashes and harnesses are shifting from functional accessories to stylish statement pieces.

To successfully navigate the shift, pet brands are launching luxury lines, while human fashion labels are venturing into the pet industry.

“We’re seeing evidence of this, as renowned luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Hermès are expanding their offerings with more pet-related products, to cater to the demands of their high-end clientele,” says Ellie Liu, Director and Designer of BONDIR, a Chinese luxury brand that has broadened its high-end women’s fashion design portfolio to include items for pets.

“This trend highlights the growing prominence of pets in affluent households,” Liu adds.  At the same time, Fashionbi, which provides data and insights for the fashion and luxury industry, notes that “pet collections have become more inspiring than kids’ fashion now”, and Vogue has proudly launched its Dogue series, which elevates pet fashion to art.

Lifestyle accessories

Label-loving fashionistas don’t mind spending a substantial amount of money on a luxury collar, harness and leash. That’s simply a natural extension of the high-end pet owner’s lifestyle.

“We’ve seen growth in sales of all our collections. We are now a point of reference in the luxury pet market,” says Simone Pierattini Fammoni, creator of EMMA Firenze, an Italian brand specializing in luxury pet product manufacturing.

“Our best-selling line is the Nubuck, a complete collection that includes products such as collars, various models of leashes and harnesses. The countries where we work best are in the Far East, the US and Northern Europe,” she adds.

Customized and handcrafted

Personalized pet fashion is trending and set to reach new heights in 2025. Personalization as a standard is flooding the collar, leash and harness sectors.

Owners want their pets to express their individuality and stand out from the crowd.

Customization in the past focused on functional features such as easy on/off buckles, escape-proof mechanisms, additional padding at critical areas such as the neck or chest and – in more recent times – tech-enabled gadgets, including GPS trackers and health monitors.

Today, custom-made collars, leashes and harnesses are designed and often handcrafted exclusively for the specific needs of a single pet. Embroidered names, laser engravings, tag accessories, stamped leather and unique designs are all selling well. Competition, however, is fierce.

“It’s hard to compete against pet accessory mass producers. They invest hugely in marketing on Google and social media, whereas the real handcrafters invest time and skill in creating unique custom products,” says Milena Marjanovic, Brand Manager at Sauri, a Serbian brand producing personalized and custom-made leather collars.

Material considerations

A single non-eco-friendly collar needs more than a century to fully decompose. With over 10s of millions of collars made yearly, the magnitude of the issue is striking. Not to mention the effect of poor-quality materials on the pet’s skin.

“So many vets and pet owners focus on what the animal eats – which is of utmost importance – but do not consider what is placed on their best friend’s body,” says Wendy Schuchart, owner of The Good Dog Company, a sustainable brand making leashes, collars and harnesses from hemp and organic cotton in the US.

Luckily, this is changing. Sustainability as a movement is not only influencing the global pet industry, but also reshaping the collar, leash and harness market.

According to Euromonitor International’s Global Lifestyles Survey data, 70% of pet owners emphasize how important it is for them to purchase environmentally friendly or sustainable pet products.

UK-based Saffron Pawtique makes collars from corks, while its local competitor Oh Heck uses 100% recycled plastic.

Canadian brand Little Pine offers collars and leashes made from discarded climbing ropes and ski instructor uniforms. Melinda Lopez, founder and Director of Little Pine, explains: “By repurposing high-quality materials that would otherwise go to waste, we provide an eco-conscious alternative to traditional pet accessories.”

Resonating with millennials

Millennials are now a substantial pet-owning demographic.

A survey carried out by Ipsos, on behalf of Mars, at the beginning of 2024 among more than 20,000 dog and cat owners in 20 countries, indicates that over 40% of this group of pet parents see their pets as the most important thing in their life.

Brands offering luxurious, customized and sustainable collars, leashes and harnesses therefore see millennials as their main target audience.

Both millennial and Gen Z pet owners value recommendations from social media, as well as from friends and family members, so to reach as many of these potential customers as possible, brands need well-thought-out advertising strategies.

“We listen closely to direct and indirect requests from potential customers,” Pierattini Fammoni explains, while according to Marjanovic “word of mouth is an important sales funnel”.

Alex Frith, PR Manager at Charley Chau, a UK brand of luxury dog products, says: “Our net promoter score has been at 100 for over 5 years now. Our focus is always to keep pushing the boundaries and building our reputation for outstanding quality.”

Collaborations are vital, too. “Innovations, paired with high-quality materials and fashion-forward craftsmanship, help us maintain partnerships with premium European retailers and expand our visibility in key markets,” says Alicia Lörsch, Wholesale Director at Cloud7, a German brand that makes luxury, personalized and unique pet products, including vegan leather collars.