From Park Walks to Fashion Collabs: The Stylish Rise of Samantha the Afghan Hound
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At first glance, Samantha looks like she has wandered out of a fashion editorial and into real life. An Afghan Hound with a floor-length coat, sculptural bone structure and a gaze that suggests she knows exactly who is watching, she is the star of Afghan Hound in the City, the Instagram and TikTok account that has built a devoted following around glamour, humor and a very specific kind of canine confidence.
Her human, Bethany Plevri, says the draw to Afghan Hounds came long before Samantha herself. “I’ve always been drawn to Afghan Hounds because they aren’t popular, but are utterly gorgeous; elegant, aloof, slightly surreal,” she says. After years of waiting for the right match, meeting Samantha felt immediate.
“When I met Samantha it was love at first sight,” Bethany recalls. She remembers her as the most affectionate puppy in the litter, “very nosey and always last to sleep.” Bringing her home only confirmed what Bethany sensed early on: “Then came the humor, the drama, the unmistakable sense that she knew she was special.”
The realization that Samantha was more than a photogenic dog did not arrive all at once. It repeated itself. Bethany began photographing her casually and noticed Samantha adjusting her posture, holding still, choosing when to engage.
“At some point I stopped thinking of her as a subject and started thinking of her as a collaborator,” she says. Samantha, Bethany jokes, “certainly doesn’t see herself as a dog, she’s the main character and I’m more of her assistant.”
City life gave that dynamic a natural stage. “Cities invite performance,” Bethany explains. “Samantha thrives on that unspoken agreement that everyone is allowed to be a little extra.”
The wardrobe is part of the story. Bethany curates every look herself, sometimes spotting a piece and immediately knowing it belongs to Samantha, other times experimenting. “There’s a lot of trial and error,” she says. “The rule is simple: if it doesn’t feel effortless on her, it’s out. Samantha has a very low tolerance for anything that feels forced.”
Public shoots have become their own form of theater. Bethany remembers feeling self-conscious early on, filming in busy spaces while Samantha wore extravagant outfits. Now she embraces it. “Samantha loves the attention, and gets to meet lots of people,” she says, leaning into the absurdity of the moment.
That commitment is what viewers respond to. “Samantha’s the most loveable character, but she’s also the joker, the fantasy, and the glamour, all at once,” Bethany adds. “People project onto her what they want to feel: elegance, absurdity, confidence, escapism.”
As the audience grew, Afghan Hound in the City naturally expanded beyond social feeds. What began as an Instagram and TikTok presence now includes a standalone website, curated merchandise and collaborations with major fashion houses that approach Samantha not as a novelty but as talent.
Bethany sees the brand as having its own language and rules. Partnerships only work when they understand that Samantha is not an accessory or a mascot, but the narrative itself. “If a brand understands that and wants to play within her world rather than overwrite it, it works,” she says. “If not, it’s a polite no.”
When the camera is off, the diva energy fades. Samantha becomes “very cuddly, quiet, deeply observant,” Bethany says. They move easily through Edinburgh’s dog-friendly cafes and parks, sharing morning runs and croissants. What Bethany hopes people feel when they scroll is simple. “A pause. A smile. A small escape from seriousness,” she says. “Absurd joy, dressed very well.”
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