Barbie Looks ‘Life-Sized’ for 60th by Unique Vintage
Los Angeles-based Unique Vintage, one of the largest apparel designer and manufacturer of vintage-inspired clothing, has collaborated with Mattel for Barbie’s 60th anniversary.
Predominately an e-commerce company, Unique Vintage espouses vintage remakes for “real women with real careers” — and real curves.
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Unique Vintage is a privately held company founded in 2000 by chief executive officer Katie Echeverry in Burbank, Calif., with the intention to design a full offering of sizes for women. The company designs directly from “iconic female heroines,” including Audrey Hepburn, Eartha Kitt, Marlene Dietrich and now Barbie.
Showcasing a size run from XS to 4/5XL and casting models of “every size, shape and color,” Unique Vintage aims to serve an underserved market while championing “body positivity and fashion inclusivity.”
The spring collection will be inspired by the Barbie dolls of the Sixties through the Eighties in collaboration with Mattel, the multinational toy manufacturing company founded in 1945 in Hawthorne, Calif., responsible for the creation of the Barbie doll, among other inventions.
This is not the first collection to be released with Mattel, as the two brands have been collaborating for over a year.
In creating a 12-piece spring collection running a size range of 2 to 26, original Barbie looks are made “life-size,” as the company aims to serve a modern wearer while paying tribute to Barbie’s cultural relevance.
Pulling inspiration directly from Barbie’s wardrobe, iconic styles such as the black-and-white chevron one-piece bathing suit from 1959 exist among sheath dresses, swing skirts and capri pants, made for the Unique Vintage customer.
As previously reported in WWD, Unique Vintage’s clothing sales increased by 35 percent during 2018 as a result of the alliance. At the time of reporting, Unique Vintage had sold more than 8,500 units from the Barbie collection to date.
The collaboration is said to be a “a natural fit,” according to Echeverry.
Mirroring a trend toward the mergence of fashion with children’s and teen cultural icons, the collaboration mimics that of Chinese designer Peacebird Men in borrowing inspiration from Sesame Street in their latest fall collection or the energy seen in the Delia’s relaunch by San Francisco-based retailer Dolls Kill.
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