The Star E-dition

Barbie goes uber-stylish with Balmain

GERRY CUPIDO geraldine.cupido@inl.co.za

BARBIE can be anything from the girl next door to a swimsuit model, but she’ll certainly always be stylish.

Therefore, it’s no real surprise to see the icon doll wearing glamorous gowns and draped in luxury.

And nothing says luxury fashion more than Balmain. With creative director Olivier Rousteing at the helm of the French fashion house, the collection is street style ready, yet uber-glamorous.

The Balmain x Barbie collection is made up of ready-to-wear clothes, accessories, and a trio of exclusive NFTS (a non-fungible token is a unique and non-interchangeable unit of data stored on a blockchain, a form of digital ledger), marking Barbie’s first venture into the virtual art world.

Rousteing has created a genderless collection for adults, inspired by Barbie and Ken. “That I can create a collection with Barbie today shows how the world has changed.”

Rousteing calls this collection, which is mostly unisex, “a fun collection with a deep, deep message”.

“You can be Ken and borrow Barbie’s clothes and vice versa,” Rousteing says, adding, “At the end of the day, you can create a society that is about freedom and not stereotypes.”

He took Balmain’s Labyrinth monogram designed by Pierre Balmain in the 1970s, the shoulder pads, the oversized gold buttons and incorporated them into Barbie’s visual world to create 50 items of clothing and accessories. Of course the collection is a wash of pink. He created several tones of Barbie’s signature bubblegum shade plus soft blush hues, bold neon shades and the dusty pink he’s known for.

One of his favourites from the collection is the dress he made for his Fabergé-inspired collection in the autumn of 2012. “I reproduced it exactly in pink, with all the straps, padding and Swarovskis,” he says.

On the opposite end of the spectrum of formality is his other favourite item: a sweatshirt with the Balmain logo in Barbie font.

For Mattel chief executive and president, Richard Dickson, the unique pairing has the potential to kickstart new chapters for both the fashion and toy industries.

“As a fashion house committed to innovation, Balmain under Olivier Rousteing’s creative direction, is the perfect partner to translate the iconography that is unique to Barbie into a modern iteration of digital art and physical fashion,” said Dickson.

The NFTS – three one-of-a-kind pieces featuring Barbie and Ken avatars styled in Balmain – will be available via Mattel Creations.

Balmain isn’t the only luxury fashion brand to dress the dream doll.

In November 2021, South

African designer Gert-johan

Coetzee launched his “Barbie Loves Gert” collection. His distinctly

South African collection showed striking pink from the Pedi culture, complemented by geometric patterns inspired by the Zulu culture.

Lifestyle

en-za

2022-01-15T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-01-15T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://thestar.pressreader.com/article/281934546311145

African News Agency