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From the pixelated display of my M3 Macbook Pro, Barbie Ferreira shines with abundance. Much like the beams of Los Angeles sunrays that light her perfectly doll-like porcelain skin. Bambie-eyed and candy-lipped, you wouldn’t take her as a self-proclaimed “feral girl”. Though, her on-screen work has hinted at her freakier side.
Ferreira’s appearance is a far departure from the woodland nymphet the actress embodies in her recently unveiled campaign for her collection with denim conglomerate Levi’s. Side by side with the imagery, shot by famed photographer and long-term friend of Ferreira’s, Petra Collins, it’s hard to picture the fresh-faced and candid ingénue in front of me was the same girl boasting about crawling around in dirt and sludging through a man-made swamp.
Yet, it’s this intrinsic dichotomy that makes Ferreira so special. Her approachability and passion are never quelled, especially as she rattles off the names of acolytes, including Ethel Cain, who have worn her designs.
Ferreira’s sartorial endeavours oscillate between the bubblegum-tinted glasses of girlhood—à la her body-conscious and ethereal ensembles—and a siren-like exploration of dark femininity. The latter predominantly fueled her second collaboration with Levi’s.
Washed with glitchy The Matrix green hues, Donnie Darko-inspired bunnies and the witchy charm of The Craft, Ferreira has crafted the ultimate 90s-fuelled denim wardrobe designed for whimsigoths and grungers alike.
It’s a euphoric celebration of Ferreira and Collins’ inner cinephiles, with snatching corsets and lace-up flares finding new meaning under the photographer’s other-worldly lens. Yet it’s this slightly macabre quality to the collection, and subsequent campaign, that makes the five-piece capsule so bewitching. Embracing the merits of supernatural, albeit erotic, horrors, Ferreira has cast herself as a clandestine final girl surviving in a sodden landscape only seen on screens.
This creativity is in part due to Ferreira’s insatiable appetite to tell a good story, but also as a way to share a part of her inner monologue with greedy adherents. The collection is also consciously size-inclusive, with this a factor in Ferreira’s modus operandi of producing what she would want as a consumer.
“The people who dress the best take the best risks and flop the hardest, so you have to be not scared of trying new things.”
Ahead, Barbie Ferreira on her creative visions, cinematic universes and designing a dream denim wardrobe. Step inside her beautiful, dark, twisted, fantasy.
GRAZIA: Talk us through designing the collection and creating the campaign.
BARBIE FERREIRA: When I did my first collection [with Levi’s], it was smaller and a bit of a quicker process. But, I started thinking about the bigger collection at the same time, so I wanted this [collection] to expand on it.
When I try to make something I think of a colour palette first. For this collection, what was calling to me was something dark, autumnal and a little bit freaky. I thought of these dark, coming-of-age movies that had those specific colours. Whether that be Cruel Intentions or Donnie Darko, all these references would keep coming to mind.
Especially for the campaign, Petra [Collins] was inspired by David Lynch.
“I was interested in making it cinematic and not the usual campaign images that you would get that are kind of glossy. I wanted the imagery to look like stills from our own little movie.”
GRAZIA: How did you land on the specific silhouettes included in the collection? Were you going down Melrose and trying on different vintage Levi’s?
BARBIE FERREIRA: With the flared jeans, for example, I wanted a flare that was a mid-rise and the perfect ‘not too high, not too low’ shape for my style. Of course, my body type is very different. Everyone has a unique body. When I’m shopping, I find that sometimes when the fit gets larger, it’s a little bit different than when the fit is small. It’s like pieces are expanded mathematically instead of to someone’s body. So when it came to making the silhouettes, it was important that we had fit models.
I was particular about fits. How we were going to size things and how it’s going to look on people and different body types. That was so important. Mostly, just as a consumer, I hate to find that something in my size and realise that it’s just a sample size just made bigger, instead of made to a different fit model. That usually happens when you reach a certain size, like a 12 or 14. This was information that I got from being a model over five years, especially a curve model. I had some insight from that. You know, a lot of companies exclusively work with one size range and just one fit model. I wanted to have a couple of [fit models] to see how it looked on different bodies and try our best to encapsulate or be flattering and comfortable to as many people as possible.
I went up to San Francisco, and I made sure we had different body types, including myself, try the clothes to make sure that the length was good, for example. That was more of the nitty gritty designing of it. But the process was pretty easy because the Levi’s team are incredible. They can make anything happen.
GRAZIA: Did you feel a responsibility to your fan base to do that and make sure that it was as inclusive as possible?
BARBIE FERREIRA: Even more than a responsibility [to them], I have a personal and moral responsibility to myself, even if I had no fan base. Mostly because how I shop is very different to how someone with a very different body type to mine would shop. I’m the resident expert on getting clothes that would fit me and as a fashion girly, fashion fan and just someone who is just in the fashion industry, I observe and try on clothes all the time. It’s part of my work, so I have an expertise that maybe some companies might not think about.
It was really important to start from a small size and go up to as big as we could realistically go. It’s a privilege and a blessing that Levi’s has the business structure to make sure there are different sizes and that we have a large size range. That’s my dream and I didn’t even know if it was possible and they made it work. It’s truly a moral responsibility because I want to wear my clothes and I never make something I couldn’t buy because then it’s obviously not truthful. I’m super proud of everything I do. I try to put in a lot of effort, love and care and fight for what I think and what I’d like to see.
GRAZIA: What does the dark, fairytale style tell us about your current style?
BARBIE FERREIRA: I’m hard on myself and I think a lot of creative people are. Making something from my brain and then putting it out there, especially something that I spent so long on, really is a side passion of mine. Outside of my acting, I love fashion and designing, which I’ve been able to do this year and has been super fun. But it’s also very nerve-wracking. I feel like my process of creating this was just making it true to me, which should always be the case when you’re creating or making art. Then you just hope that it speaks to people and that they like it and can tap into the vision—and people did! It’s very sweet.
GRAZIA: Both your and Petra’s aesthetics oscillate between ultra-feminine and otherworldly. How did you land on this gothic fantasy?
BARBIE FERREIRA: With Petra, especially in the 10 years that we’ve worked together, her work is about the dark side of femininity. It just made sense. I didn’t think of [the campaign] as goth, per se. More so night, wet and feral. Very wood girl. Swamp girl. We were just toying with a bunch of ideas; long hair, minimal makeup, weird nails. Everything about working with Petra has always been about girlhood so that’s what I wanted to do.
I’ve also known her almost half my life, so working with her and her cool point-of-view was seamless. I also love exploring femininity in its darkness and cinematic horror, I think that’s what we have in common. We both love horror about being a woman and being a femme in spaces not meant for us.
But I also just love her art so much so not only did we get to do that [make art], we also got to collaborate on this project for Levi’s, so it was very much a family affair.
GRAZIA: Do you think the strike impacted your desire to create a vivid story?
BARBIE FERREIRA: With the strike, it’s been an interesting year… I had more time to focus on other things, including working on this campaign and making sure that it was everything I’d ever wanted.
GRAZIA: The campaign references David Lynch’s 90s work, Donnie Darko and Animal Crossing. What else was on the mood board?
BARBIE FERREIRA: For this specific campaign, Petra was inspired by Twin Peaks and creating a surreal, dreamy-yet-nightmarish world. In general, my mood board is all over the place. Things that inspire me all the time are the movies I watch. I get fixated! To name a few, Belle du Jour, or Malèna with Monica Bellucci. It just depends on what captures what I’m feeling. I watched The Devil Wears Prada the other day and that was inspiring because it’s a masterpiece of a movie.
GRAZIA: I also got a Pearl vibe from the shoot. Like if Mia Goth fell into the alligator pond and came out in the modern age she’d be wearing this.
BARBIE FERREIRA: We built a literal swamp on this farm! There are so many more pictures (because you take a lot when you’re doing a photoshoot), of me crawling out of the swamp in this very feral girl, animalistic way. I wanted it to be fun. I would rather do something intriguing, even if it doesn’t land, over something predictable.
GRAZIA: What do you think that says about your creative process?
BARBIE FERREIRA: As an actor, I’m literally crawling around in the dirt, depending on the context. [Laughs] So I didn’t think anything of it! It was so cold and I was in the dirt and rock running around but that’s what is so fun to me!
“There’s just something about being so in tune with nature and soil and that swamp vibe that spoke to me. It was like experiencing the world for the first time.”
That whole throughline is throughout the shoot, but it was a little loose. We shot whatever came to our mind that we thought was interesting, but from the start, I knew I wanted something wet and I wanted something dark.
GRAZIA: How did you pitch that to Levi’s?
BF: That was all Petra! But Levi’s are amazing. They get the vision. It’s just wonderful to work with people who trust creative visions so much and let you play and go really outside the box.
GRAZIA: In honour of Spotify Wrapped 2023, what songs were playing during the shoot? I’m imagining a lot of Ethel Cain.
BF: Yes! Always Ethel. I was going through mine and she was my second most played artist. My first was Lana Del Rey. So those two, but I love Angel Olsen. I’ve been listening to some Nancy Sinatra and Caribou… but always Lana. Every year she’s just number one without fail. I’m a huge stan.
GRAZIA: Though this is your second time collaborating with Levi’s, you join a long list of creatives who have teamed up with the brand like Emma Chamberlain and Hailey Bieber. Of this group, who could you see wearing the Levi’s x Barbie collection?
BF: I love Emma Chamberlain. I’m such a huge fan. I remember meeting her a few years ago and fangirled so hard. I’m such an internet girl, I’m always on the internet. So I love Emma, she’s so cute. Hopefully, she likes it. But hopefully, everyone likes it! We’ll see!
GRAZIA: Have you seen people wearing it IRL yet?
BF: My collaborator on this collection and friend, Ben Evans, wears it all the time. He designed the logo for me so he always wears it. I haven’t seen anyone in the wild yet, but I did go into store and saw it was stocked and was like, “Oh my god, looook!” My stylist, Chris Horan, is always wearing my Levi’s. And also to be fair, I haven’t been outside very much.
Also, as a person who is hard on myself, once I make something I’m always like, “Oh is anyone going to like it?” [Laughs] When I see people that I love and adore wearing my pieces it’s so validating. I’m just happy people want to wear my little clothes.
GRAZIA: Who is on your bucket list or dream wearer to have Barbie x Levi’s in their closet?
BF: I do have a list! Ethel Cain, she wears my other Levi’s collaboration and she’s a queen so shout out. Maybe Lana, but we’ll see! My friends and family wearing it is enough for me.
GRAZIA: What is the most ‘Barbie’ piece in the collection? What styling tips can you give GRAZIA readers to lean into the grunge aesthetic at home?
BF: I surprisingly love the coat so much. I think it works for both feminine and masculine people. It’s such a good fit. It’s large and comforting, so I’ve been wearing it a lot to get coffee or if I go out and have a good long dress on I’ll wear it as my jacket. I also wanted a skirt that wasn’t too long or too short, so I was like, “I’ll have to just create it myself!”
GRAZIA: Denim can be so polarising, what was the most crucial element you wanted to perfect in terms of the design?
BF: The silhouettes came from a personal preference. When you start from that point of view of ‘What would I want as a consumer?’ it tends to lead me to the right place. I have an understanding of what someone interested in clothes would want. I knew I wanted some baggy pieces, so I made the T-shirts to be boxier. I wanted the corset to hit just right and be really like snatching. Same with the flared jeans. I wanted all these things that were also just personal preferences. I just wanted it to be things I like. That has never led me astray… yet.
GRAZIA: Do you have any fashion regrets?
BF: Almost exclusively. But that’s just me. I regret everything I’ve ever worn. No, I’m kidding, but there are some choices I made in the beginning where I was just having fun. But I stand by them, still to this day.
GRAZIA: This collection is all about creating a fantasy. What does the last chapter of 2023 look like for Barbie?
BF: Chilling! I’m wrapping up some stuff for next year and my birthday is coming up, so it’s very chilled at the moment, and next year is a whole different situation!
Barbie Ferreira’s collection for Levi’s is available to shop online and in select stores now.
