From High Fashion to Horse Wear, Celebrity Designer Dalia MacPhee Creates First Fire-Safe Blanket For Horses

By: Brittany Bevis

During the past two years, California has been struck by some of the worst fires in the state’s history. One of those was the Lilac Fire that, in December 2017, burned through northern San Diego County destroying eight barns at the San Luis Rey Training Center and killing 46 horses. More recently, last month’s Paradise Fire killed approximately 84 people and destroyed 14,000 homes (NBC,2018).

Celebrity fashion designer, Dalia MacPhee, knows firsthand the feelings of helplessness, uncertainty, and terror that come with a fast moving blaze. Her own horse, a 17-year-old, Holsteiner gelding named Beowolf, had to be evacuated during the Calabasas fire a few years ago. Thankfully, he escaped unscathed, but that experience gave birth to an idea that combines her knowledge of fashion design and garment construction with her love of horses. The result was the world’s first fire-retardant blanket with GPS, for horses.

“I know, when the California fires happened, a lot of my non-horsey friends and colleagues frantically reached out asking how they could help,” Dalia says. “This is one way. Not every horse owner can afford one of these blankets, but together we can help with that and offer a fighting chance to one of the most majestic animals on the planet. We’re living in the age of technology; we have to do better.”

Certainly, this is a departure from the world of red carpets and high fashion photo shoots that Dalia typically inhabits. However, the designer that Entertainment Tonight has called, “Couture with a Conscious,” is no stranger to charitable endeavors. Dalia is involved with several human and animal-focused causes around the world, including The Cinderella Project and the YES! Foundation, which provides assistance to individuals diagnosed with liver or lung cancer. Every year, YES! flies a group of cancer survivors to Hollywood to walk the red carpet during the Emmys and Oscars. Dalia donates her beautiful gowns to the female survivors. In addition, 95% of her fashion line is vegan friendly. Her actions fall perfectly in line with her motto, “Changing the world one gown at a time.”

Dalia has been featured in Vogue, Marie Claire, and Allure magazines and has outfitted celebrities like Scarlett Johansson, Heidi Klum, Brooke Burke-Charvet, Hilary Duff, Serena Williams, Khloe Kardashian, Olivia Munn, Candace Cameron Bure, and Niecy Nash, just to name a few. For this special project she’s traded in the satin and lace for fire retardant fabric and velcro straps to create a patent-pending design that she hopes will help protect horses during future fire evacuations.

“It was really important to me that we created a blanket that’s flame resistant, heat resistant, durable, and also light,” she says. “After researching a plethora of fire safety garments used by firefighters, fighter pilots, Nascar drivers, and even NASA, I decided to create a proprietary fabric in house for the Equisafe blanket. I have more fabrics in development as we speak. The whole blanket is fire retardant/resistant, including the reflective strips, velcro, trim, inside lining, and breakaway back straps. It WILL NOT catch on fire. We’re also coming out with a blanket for dogs and ponchos for grooms and owners.”

Dalia explains that the Equisafe blanket is lightweight and SGS certified. “SGS is a leader in fire testing in the USA,” she says. “However, I would like to emphasize that the Equisafe blanket is meant to be used as an emergency, evacuation blanket ONLY. It’s not to be used as an everyday blanket and doesn’t make the horse invincible. Fire fighters will tell you the same thing about their gear.”

“Uses might be to help protect the horse from falling embers when he’s outside or being led to the safety of a trailer, or to wear in the trailer to prevent possible burns or flammability that can happen while evacuating. In the worst case scenario, when evacuation isn’t possible, it can be worn if the horse has to be turned loose.”

One of the most important features of the Equisafe blanket is the GPS function that comes with a prepaid SIM card with up to 300 text messages. The battery life will last for up to 12 days standby and 4-6 days while tracking.

“Since the blanket was created for emergency purposes only, we tried to keep operation of the GPS (3G) as simple as possible,” she says. “If you’re located in the USA, it comes with a SIM card already installed. Basically, you text the blanket, and it texts you back the Google Maps location of your horse. You can also log in online to view your horse’s location in realtime and get status updates every minute that shows where he is and how fast he’s traveling. We’re working on a more complex GPS for version 2.0, which will feature sound and even camera monitoring; but, in an effort to keep costs affordable, I felt the simplest features would be best to start with.”

The Equisafe blanket is currently available on pre-order and will ship in April of 2019. For a limited time, the blankets are being offered at cost. “My dream is that every horse in any fire prone area would have an Equisafe blanket,” Dalia says. There is also an option on Dalia’s website to donate $50 or $100 towards the purchase of a blanket to a horse in need.

The idea for this revolutionary product came out of Dalia’s love for her beloved equine and the need to ensure his safety and well-being, which is certainly something that all equestrians can relate to.

“Wolfie is 17 years old, and we do Jumpers,” she says. “He’s Canadian, like me, and has lots of personality! When I got Wolfie, he came with a completely different name. It was much more regal. Within the first week as his new mom, I was riding him into an indoor arena when he grabbed an entire cheeseburger, wrapper and all, off the ledge, and he swallowed it whole, just like a wolf! Hence, the inspiration for his name change.”

Check out the Dalia MacPhee Equestrian Collection. 

Click here to view the Equisafe Blanket