In 2013's beloved animated feature, Barbie & Her Sisters in A Pony Tale, Barbie (and her sisters) find themselves going up against malicious riding master Philippe Cheynet in an effort to win the Big Horse Tournament. Philippe, of course, ultimately loses, but even more devastating for the villain: He looks uncannily like presidential candidate and noted lizard person Ted Cruz.
What is more fierce: a Moschino Barbie or a young boy with a fauxhawk enthusing about a Moschino Barbie? Luckily, you do not have to choose—both are in the commercial above for the $150 doll. But if you did have to choose, always bet on the kid with the fauxhawk gagging, “Moschino Barbie is so fierce!” It’s progress. It’s just common sense.
“I can’t get it,” Avery says, “I can’t get it.”
Ooh boy. Here's a quote that speaks volumes, from Reuters' article about Iran's morality police "cracking down" on the sale of Barbie dolls, which is forbidden. Stores have been instructed to sell Iran's specially-designed, ultra-demure Sara and Dara dolls instead, to the disgust of the superficial girl tykes of Tehran:
We like to "jest" with the advertising industry about how stupid and evil they are, but the truth is that marketing is not easy. Today in Fuzzy Public Outrage: Dolls are racist, and soap bubbles are rapists.
• At long last, Karl Lagerfeld has his very own Ken doll "complete with matching black suit, high white collar, white ponytail, silver leather gloves." The doll-like photo to your left? That's the genuine article. [Racked]
• Either Adele suddenly dropped a ton of weight before her Annie Leibovitz photo shoot or Vogue's art department has been working overtime. [Jezebel]
• French officials are considering a law that would require magazines to disclose the fact they've manipulated a photo. That sound you just heard was Pascal Dangin shudder with disgust. [BI]
• The fashion world has "slowed down and sobered up," but "the recession could turn out to make designers better designers," says Cathy Horyn. [NYT]
• Jason Wu's Fashion Week show will be the second-hottest ticket in town right behind Marc Jacobs. [NYO]
• Isaac Mizrahi's debut collection for Liz Claiborne is now online and up for sale. [Fashionista]
• Not everyone is excited about Fashion Week moving to Lincoln Center. Like Anna Sui. [NYM]
• Anna Wintour is styling Adele for the Grammys. [NYM]
• Football player Stewart Bradley is interning at Elle. [Fashionista]
• Eric Wilson explains the difference between Hello Kitty and Barbie. [NYT]
Have you ever looked at a Barbie doll and wished you could replicate the look for yourself? You'll be able to do just that in a few short months. Mattel is now planning to turn Barbie into an "adult fashion brand"—something the company has already done in Asia—and partnerships are already in place with Bloomingdale's, Vera Wang, and Jeremy Scott. Mattel has also negotiated a pact with the CFDA whereby the trade group will help the company locate 50 designers willing to "produce life-size outfits inspired by Barbie" in exchange for a big, fat wad of cash, and Barbie's first runway show will take place during Fashion Week in February. But there's more to come: Mattel is also launching a line of beauty products, one of which bears the very appropriate name "Plastic Smooth." [WWD, The Cut]
Press your ear to the ground this morning and feel the subsonic rumblings rolling over from Riverside — better known these days as the Epicenter of Epochal Doll Litigation since Mattel went to war against Bratz manufacturer MGA Entertainment last month over Barbie-centric copyright infringement. And while a jury has already ruled that Bratz designer Carter Bryant conceived the dolls while working for Mattel (as well as MGA boss Isaac Larian's complicity in adapting them for his company), Bratz future are in doubt as aftershocks threaten nearly $2 billion worth of damage on the sassy young brand. But what seismic phenomena could possibly wreak such catastrophe in both the dollscape and the hearts of Bratz-obsessed girls around the world? Aggressive eyebrows and suggestive lips, lawyers argue for starters:
