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This year’s Met Gala theme—Garden of Time—was a bit nebulous for the stars who walked the red carpet. Some nailed it (we’re looking at you, Tyla and Lewis Hamilton), while others wore whatever gown or tux they wanted to, without much regard for the context.

If the humans couldn’t get it right, how could dogs, whose concept of time revolves around time for treats, time for a walk, and time for a nap? The precious pups at this year’s Pet Gala mimicked the memorable looks from stars like Zendaya, Cardi B, Bad Bunny, Sarah Jessica Parker and more. And they were so cute, we don’t mind if their looks didn’t fit the theme.

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Pet Couturier Anthony Rubio hosted The Pet Gala at the AKC Museum of the Dog in Midtown East on Monday, showcasing 16 re-created Met Gala looks. In just two weeks, the stylist superstar turned red carpet gowns and suits into pet-friendly looks. With his experience hosting pup fashion shows during New York Fashion Week, Rubio was up for the challenging task.

“I love to challenge myself,” Rubio says. “The designers for The Met Gala have months to create their looks for celebrities to shine on the red carpet. I have two weeks to recreate them and for dogs. When I design for my Fashion Week runway shows, it’s all my aesthetic. For The Pet Gala, I have to figure out how to translate garments worn by humans onto our four-legged stars. Humans can suffer for their fashion, but dogs will not. Their comfort and safety is my top priority. It’s a challenge I’m always up for. I thrive under the pressure.”

Thrive indeed. The looks dazzled with sequins, ruffles and perfect tailoring, ensuring that every dog had their day.

Here are a few of the outstanding outfits: 

LaLa, a Pomeranian, as Nicki Minaji

Miley-Jo, a Chorkie, as Cardi B

Ted Gram, a Poodle, as Bad Bunny

Kimba, a Chihuahua, as Zendaya 

Daffodil, a Pomeranian, as Jennifer Lopez

Fritz, a Pomeranian, as Ed Sheeran

Layla, a Shichon as Sarah Jessica Parker

Saya, a Pocket Pitbull, as Shakira

Superman, a Leonberger as Irina Shayk

* This article was originally published here

Back in 2018, the Palace Theatre at 1564 Broadway by 47th Street was shut down for a pretty massive renovation and restoration project that included plans to raise the landmarked venue about 30 feet in the air. 

And now, just in time for Broadway darling Ben Platt’s upcoming three-week residency on site, the theatre, originally focused on vaudeville acts, is ready for its closeup and a much anticipated grand reopening.

It’s important to note that, given the 14-million-pounds institution’s landmark status, the $80 million restructuring project had to be completed without damaging—or, really, changing—the space’s arches, box seats and ceiling. Officials were able to build out a new orchestra pit and stage lifts, though, in addition to installing new finishes palettes and light fixtures inspired by the original Beaux-Arts style of the destination, according to an official press release. 

The theater also boasts a brand-new lobby, backstage area, stunning marquee and a fresh entrance on 47th Street.

The decision to move the entryway off Times Square echoes similar moves by other major Broadway buildings, likely directly linked to the constant pedestrian traffic that defines the neighborhood.

Fun fact: the Palace Theatre’s auditorium was actually originally built inside a box, a fact that allowed construction crews to quite literally lift it and add square footage dedicated to more bathrooms, a new lobby, ground-floor retail space and more at the site. 

“Teams from 10-12 construction and engineering firms emptied the building’s cellar and sub-cellar and installed an elaborate hydraulic jacking system and a large concrete ring beam around the theater,” reads the press release. “This created a pocket for the elevation to take place. Once the theater reached 16 feet, the lift paused so the new floors could be built.”

Who knew Broadway was also where feats of architectural marvel could still shock us?

* This article was originally published here

The door leading into the new Banksy Museum at 277 Canal Street looks just like you’d imagine the entrance to a space dedicated to the most elusive character in street art would look like: industrial, anonymous, almost mysterious. 

Head up a flight of stairs, though, and you’ll be greeted with what is meant to be Banksy’s ideal canvas: a city of walls.

“We recreated the street to respect the rule of street art because the work has to be reproduced on a wall and can’t be sold,” says museum founder Hazis Vardar during a recent walkthrough of the new destination. 

Vardar’s devotion to his new project and the artist that inspires it is made clear through the precision of the works on display: all reproductions, also made by anonymous artists, minutely resemble the original works they are inspired by, despite the fact that many of them may no longer even exist.

Banksy’s murals, after all, are just as ephemeral as the artist himself. 

Whether painted over, removed or damaged, his street art often gains attention because of its temporary nature and unpredictable locations. Banksy himself has, in the past, commented on the impermanent nature of the form, acknowledging that it may not last forever. 

“Almost 80% of these works have been destroyed already or white washed,” explains Vardar. “You can’t see them anymore.”

At the new museum—which has previously been mounted in Barcelona, Brussels, Krakow and Paris—the street art, cloned on actual walls, shares space with framed copies of Banksy’s paintings and a reproduction of the artist’s famous Walled Off Hotel, originally designed by Banksy and other creatives in 2017 as a temporary exhibition in Bethlehem, in the West Bank.

The Canal Street exhibit, which Vardar refers to as a museum because he hopes will stay put permanently, is loosely split into geographical regions.

Visitors will first get to look through murals that Banksy installed throughout London (“we started with London because he’s from there,” notes Vardar), moving onto France, New York—including the “Hammer Boy” mural that remarkably still stands today on the Upper West Side—and the Middle East. The lower level of the warehouse-like space is dedicated to Banksy’s work in Ukraine, reminding viewers that, at its core, the artist’s creative pursuits are political commentary. 

“To me, Banksy is a revolutionary and his work has a meaning, something inside of it,” says Vardar. “I’m an Albanian son of immigrants so I understand his position on immigration, women’s rights [and more]. His work touches me more and more.”

Although representative of Banksy’s craft with over 160 works on display, the new museum feels more like a celebration of the artist rather than an objective exploration of his output. Not necessarily a flaw, the obvious allegiance to the enigmatic Banksy might, though, say more about the founder of the museum than the subject itself—a fact that might not be lost on Vardar.

“If I could talk to Bansky, I would say ‘well done,’,” he confesses. “Thanks for shaking people’s brains.” 

* This article was originally published here