It’s Balmain’s latest boundary-pushing collaboration. The French fashion house has teamed up with none other than Barbie to create a playful limited-edition collection, with the emphasis firmly on fun. Unsurprisingly, there’s plenty of pink, with Olivier Rousteing adopting a colour palette that ranges from the palest of blushes to bold fuchsia across over 50 pieces. Several of Balmain’s signature bags have been melded with Barbie packaging to create quirky hybrids, while badges, t-shirts and hoodies have been designed to combine the doll’s distinctive aesthetic with the maison’s latest silhouettes. The unisex range was inspired by Barbie’s beau, Ken, too, and alongside the ready-to-wear pieces there’ll also be a series of Barbie and Ken NFTs that will be auctioned off online.
“The collaboration comes at the perfect moment — our clients are looking for something fun and joyful during this uncertain time,” said Lana Todorovich, president and chief merchandising officer of Neiman Marcus, referring to the mostly pink, mostly unisex capsule that is dropping on Thursday. “For Neiman Marcus, luxury is about relationships and curating exclusive products and experiences for our customers. From the moment our merchant team saw the Barbie collaboration, we thought there was something special and nostalgic that would inspire and engage our customers.”