BALMAIN PARTNERS WITH BARBIE FOR A SPECIAL, LIMITED-EDITION COLLECTION

Growing up, Barbie’s shiny, smiley and sunny California vibe was always mesmerizing—but it wasn’t always all that clear that her appealing universe was open to everyone. Small boys like me were strongly warned away from her, due to fears of teasing (or worse) for being “too feminine.”
But, thankfully, today's Barbie wholeheartedly embraces everyone’s extraordinary beauty and possibilities—and Balmain’s new joyful and exuberant collaboration with that legendary doll celebrates that new open spirit of freedom and empowerment. In fact, the only limitations placed upon our partnership are calendar ones: the dates during which these limited-edition designs will be available.
Much of the collection plays with new spins on Balmain signatures, including our marinière, our love for strong graphics and the house’s mesmerizing Labyrinth pattern. That 50-year-old, maze-inspired motif, originally designed by Monsieur Balmain, proves once again just how incredibly chameleon-like it is, as it pops up in multiple distinct iterations across the many offerings of this collection. There are also several new takes on iconic silhouettes that were first presented on Balmain Paris Fashion Week runways—with each design slightly adjusted to reflect the new modern Barbie aesthetic, while remaining true to the exacting standards of Balmain’s famed ateliers.The inspiration flowed both ways. My Balmain design team and I have also been playing with the very-familiar spirit and iconography of the Barbie universe. Badges, tees and hoodies cleverly channel the bold graphic treatment that we all immediately recognize as Barbie’s—and many accessories offer inventive riffs on the classic containers of the one-of-a-kind doll, creating fantastic hybrids of our signature bags and Barbie packaging.
And, always, everywhere: pink. Of course. This is Barbie—and for Barbie, you go pink. The palette evolves from the softest of blushes to a host of stronger tones. But, as I’ve often stressed, for Balmain’s young rebelles, pretty pastels are never something that might be sugary and sweet. For this house’s troublemakers, pink is the color that perfectly reflects the modern Balmain Army’s bold spirit, as its members push back and push forward—while always making sure to push every single envelope along the way!
As part of our Balmain-Barbie partnership, three one-of-a-kind Barbie and Ken NFTs will be auctioned off, online. Styled with a complete looks from our collaboration, each of these Balmain x Barbie avatars comes accompanied with a bespoke, Barbie-sized Balmain x Barbie ensemble, for a singular digital and physical pairing.
As our campaign images make very clear, Barbie and Balmain are embarking upon a distinctly multicultural, inclusive and always joy-filled adventure. We are building upon the new ‘New French Style’ of Balmain’s most recent collections, once again showing that Balmain is inspired by the truly diverse and exciting beauty found on today’s Parisian boulevards and avenues And just as Paris’ vision is no longer limited by the concrete border of its périphérique, this collection also rejects any arbitrary gender limitations— this is an almost 100% unisex collection. For, just as today’s new Barbie makes clear — there's nothing holding us back anymore.

Olivier Rousteing
Paris
07 January 2022

Photographer: Rob Rusling @robrusling @fecreatives
Stylist: Alba Melendo @albamelendo
Model: Yilan Hua @yilan_hua @thefaceparis
Model: Marie Lou Gomis @marielougomis @theclawmodels
Model: Fernando Lindez @fernando_lindez @newmadisonmodels
Hair Stylist: Pablo Kuemin @pablokuemin @bryantartists
Makeup artist : Samira Goyette @samira_pikpo @packbackage
Manicurist: Typhaine Kersual @typhainekersual @artistsunit
Set Designer: David De Quevedo @cadenceimage
DOP: Basile Baudelet @b.baudelet
Production: Louis2 @louis2par