What’s better than playing with Barbie? Dressing like Barbie— at least in the eyes of Balmain creative director Olivier Rousteing. There’s no secret that Barbie has donned some fashionable looks in her over 62-year history, and as the decades go on, she continues to reinvent herself (dare we say style icon?). Her latest wardrobe fixtures come courtesy of a new partnership between the Barbie brand and French luxury fashion label, Balmain.
Rousteing merges Barbie’s iconic style with Balmain’s heritage code to create an IRL ready-to-wear fashion and accessories collection that boost genderless styles. “For me, it’s a lot more than just a commercial project. It’s very emotional,” Rousteing revealed to the New York Times, reflecting on the shame he felt playing with Barbie dolls as a child. As such, the majority of the collection is meant to be genderless. “Having Barbie in my Balmain army, making a collection inspired by her where there are no boy clothes or girl clothes, is my small revenge. I think Barbie represents a joyful dream world. There’s nothing wrong with a dream. But let’s push the dream, and not the dream of the 1950s or 1960s, but 2022.”
The 50 piece collection boosts styles from Rousteing’s signature exaggerated broad-shouldered tops, sequined mini-dresses, strapless mermaid gowns, silk satin suits, pajama sets, and must-have bags. Each garment naturally is reimagined in a palette of pink: dusty pink, hot pink, and of course, Barbie-approved bubblegum pink. The collection’s standout is a replica of Rousteing iconic Fabergé dresses from the Fall-Winter 2012 collection, reimagined in pink and Swarovskis.
It wouldn’t be a 2022 collaboration without some digital element to it. Rousteing enlisted CGI dolls to model the extensive collection range in a series of glam photos. Three one-of-a-kind NFTs of Barbie and friends were also created, marking Barbie’s debut into the digital art world. Each member of the doll gang is styled in head-to-toe Balmain designs and is accompanied by a bespoke set of Barbie-sized Balmain pieces, creating a unique digital and physical art collection.
The Barbie x Balmain ready-to-wear and accessories line will be available for purchase at Balmain stores, balmain.com, Mattel Creations and retailers worldwide beginning January 13th.
