It began at the Salone del Mobile international furniture fair in Milan and is now doing the rounds of Sisley’s own shop windows in several Italian cities. “The Dog Parade” is an authentic parade of dogs of various shapes and sizes that, with grace and humour, during the month of May, will be “winking” at people who pass by Sisley’s shops in Genoa, Viareggio, Vicenza, Florence, Naples and Rome. Fifty life-size examples, of different breeds, that have two things in common: their ceramic “skin” and the artist who designed them. She is Mariana Fernandes, the Portuguese designer and illustrator who is a leading member of Fabrica’s creative team.

Turning on its head the concept of the “ceramic ornament” – a traditional decorative element in houses of bygone times – Fernandes has hand-painted every statue using the traditional artisan techniques employed by the master ceramicists of Bassano Del Grappa. Consequently every dog ​​has a different “coat”, which – through use of materials including fibres of grass, flowers, petals and splashes of undefined colours – underscores a perfect bond with nature. The specimens – veritable design objects, with their own unique and original character – will be on display in Sisley’s own shop windows.

Anyone wishing to can actually adopt one.