The latest round of fashion weeks has barely ended and Rakewell is already wondering if Paris or Milan could ever summon as much artistry as Barbie. Sure, Chanel can reproduce an entire solar system on its runway, but has anyone achieved a confluence of art and fashion as exciting as Barbie’s latest outing? The doll is now available in a dress that is made from the starry sky of one of Van Gogh’s most famous paintings. As if that were not enough, she wears a crescent moon in her hair and, according to the press release, ‘sculpted heels inspired by the landscape’s rolling hills’.
Artists and designers working together is nothing new: Salvador Dalí and Elsa Schiaparelli repurposed the lobster as a fashion accessory, Gianni Versace borrowed from Andy Warhol for his Elizabeth Taylor jacket, Raf Simons worked with Ruby Sterling on his debut collection for Dior in 2012. In recent years the two worlds have grown even closer. Jonathan Anderson regularly worked with artists at Loewe to create wearable art – think of his feathered tops printed with Barbara Krafft’s portrait of Mozart (1819) or Van Gogh’s sunflowers. But few throw their whole body into the art like Barbie.
Barbie’s creator, Ruth Handler, surely never intended for her invention to be a mere clothes horse. But Rakewell feels that there is more to this than dressing up. Yes, Van Gogh’s painting is entirely out of copyright, so some might view MoMA’s licensing of the work in this way as mission creep – something the anti-creep Barbie would never condone. But this is a pioneering new look by a pioneering doll, powered by a pioneering museum and a very successful toy company, which proves that Barbie is one of the best businesswomen out there.
