London Fashion Week: Richard Quinn teams up with Barbie to unveil first look of new collection
‘Barbie would be our woman of choice to open the show,’ says fashion designer
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Your support makes all the difference.This season, revered British talent Richard Quinn has chosen an inventive and pandemic-friendly way to unveil his autumn/winter 2021 collection.
Rather than stage a virtual fashion show, as other designers have, Quinn has teamed up with Barbie to offer fans a first look at his latest creations.
That’s right, Barbie, as in the dolls. Quinn has recreated his intricate designs in miniature so that they fit a standard Barbie.
The first look from Quinn’s collection was revealed on Barbie’s Instagram account, @BarbieStyle, on Friday, the first day of London Fashion Week, with the rest of his collection due to be unveiled next month.
The ensemble is a full-length embellished gown covered in sparkling white roses and green leaves that are interspersed between a diamond print.
“The look was all about creating the idea of white roses growing around the dress placed in a way that makes it seem like a seamless gown,” explained Quinn.
“A graphic silhouette allows the flowers to be placed in an organic way with a combination of shine and matt to add depth to the piece.”
Despite what you’d expect, creating the gown in miniature took no more time than it would to create one of Quinn’s regular-sized pieces, which are often just as elaborate.
“The look took eight days to embroider and two days to construct including the crinoline in miniature underneath,” the designer said.
“We wanted to re-create the bespoke hand-crafted artisanal dress for Barbie using the same beautiful techniques that we use on our ready-to-wear collections!”
Quinn went so far as to say that if he was hosting a fashion show this season, Barbie would be the first model to walk down the runway, so to speak.
“[She] would be our woman of choice to open the show,” he said.
“She stands for inclusivity and beauty in all forms and embodies the Richard Quinn brand. It has been an absolute honour to dress Barbie.
“It’s really amazing to work with such a diverse and beautiful range of dolls and it’s has been so much fun making everything in miniature!”
Barbie, which is made by Mattel, is one of the most diverse dolls on the market, and now produces dolls representing a variety of skin tones, physical abilities, hair textures, and body shapes.
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