Leeds designer's epic gown worn by rescued dog on the Cannes Film Festival red carpet

The samoyed who was rescued from the Chinese dog meat trade wore a gown fit for a movie star princess on the red carpet at Cannes Film Festival. Felicity, who was saved by the NoToDogMeat charity, strutted her stuff behind A-List stars at the exclusive screening of Project Silence last night.

The pup has now found a happy home in London where she is treated like showbiz royalty. The pooch, who is an ambasa-dog for NoToDogMeat, and was invited to Cannes Film Festival, which is a long-time supporter of the charity.

To make sure Felicity looked her best for her red carpet moment, Michelle Parker, a Leeds designer who is a senior volunteer for the NoToDogMeat, created an epic gown for Felicity, which took more than 30 hours to complete.

To create the dazzling dress, Michelle, of Rawdon, deconstructed a second hand prom dress, thinning out the metres of tulle and satin before adding hundreds of hand stitched tiny sequins. She then created intricate satin roses to decorate the frock.

Michelle said: “I loved making the dress and Felicity looked so fabulous in it, she is a very outgoing dog and loves to pose, but the most important thing is that she is comfortable so I spent a lot of time making the dress as light as possible, so that she can wear it happily.

"The hardest part of making the dress was taking out the boning and repurposing the cups on the front to make the bodice, plus sewing on all the bling which was well worth it."

Michelle put a foam suit on her own dog Luka to make sure that the dress would fit larger Felicity, who lives in London

She added: "My samoyed Luka absolutely loved being Felicity's body double, albeit with a bit of foam padding, it was like he knew it was all for a good cause. I loved the thought of Felicity relaxing and getting her beauty sleep while Luka was doing her dress fittings.”

When Felicity arrived at the festival she received her own pass, which gave her access to a range of exclusive parties, screenings and events. Together with her owner Julia de Cadenet, who founded the charity and was on the rescue that saved the pup, Felicity will receive star treatment, and Julia hopes that telling her story will help to educate and inspire people to act in the fight against the dog meat trade.

She said: "When we found Felicity she was in a terrible state, but over time and with a lot of love and care her outgoing personality has blossomed. She really is a miracle, and loves to show off and meet people, so this really is a perfect moment for her.

She deserves it so much and we hope that by telling Felicity's story, and when people meet her they will be inspired to join our movement. The dress itself is like a work of art, and a huge thank you to Michelle who has worked so hard to create the gown for this special occasion. NoToDogMeat really is a family, so everyone chips in to help with their specialist skills."