MANILA, Philippines - I truly believe that every fashionista’s journey started with hours of playing dress-up with a little doll with flawless skin, an impossibly tiny waist, endless legs and perfect makeup. The Barbie doll started as a phenomenon back in 1959, when fashion was graduating from the feminine “new look” of the ’50s and transitioning to the more eccentric and groovy fashion of the ’60s. But Barbie wasn’t just a trend. She transcended it and became the first real icon for girl power. She was a career woman, a mother, a partner and friend. She broke barriers of race, social class and evolved with the times. So it is only fitting, that on her 50th birthday, fashion lovers all over the world are celebrating this iconic doll’s immense influence on women of all ages.
Fashion Week wouldn’t be complete without joining in the festivities. Last May 28, local designers paid tribute to this special doll with their own take on what they felt was classic Barbie. The dominant color was, of course, pink — bright, hot pink mixed with black, like Avel Bacudio’s mini dress and Benjie Manuel’s pageant gown. Some designers worked with tulle and satin, such as Czarina Villa’s pink concoction and Chris Diaz’s pretty strapless number. The puffy skirt was also a favorite, as Eric delos Santos proved with his cheeky creation. There were the ever-present ball gowns with huge crinoline-lined skirts in bright yellow floral chiffon by Oliver Tolentino and Estien Quijano’s avant-garde piece with a giant ice cream cone as accessory. But not everyone went the saccharine route. There were some who felt that Barbie could also very well be punk rock in skintight leather pants with a uniquely tailored biker jacket (by Gian Romano) as well as a deconstructed T-shirt dress in black and white (by Dimple Lim). Some paid tribute to Barbie as a career woman, as seen in Mich Dulce’s very wearable sexy secretary satin top and tweed pencil skirt and Raoul Ramirez’s cream retro working girl dress.
With all the looks that went down the catwalk that night, one thing was for sure. Barbie can pretty much pull off anything, which just goes to show that she, too, was the first real (albeit plastic) supermodel.