Boys play with Barbie dolls, too, and young Olivier Rousteing was one of them. Memories of being shamed for it as a child set the stage for his last laugh. Now, as Balmain creative director, making “a collection inspired by her where there are no boy clothes or girl clothes is my small revenge.”
The 50-piece capsule collection in all shades of Barbie pink is nostalgic and emotional, but it also makes you feel brave and sexy. Proof? LGBTQ+ champions of their generation, singer-artist entrepreneur Issa Pressman and actor-model Alex Diaz-McDermott, couldn’t be more perfect as real-life Barbie and Ken.
Pressman brings on the swag in a Barbie pink Canadian suit with a trucker cap. Diaz-McDermott flexes his guns and abs in the Barbie-fied Balmain logo cropped tee. They also share a striped double-breasted suit jacket from the collection.
While the unisex category has been dominated with silhouettes that lean on masculine, Rousteing injects Balmain’s DNA of feminine strength and exuberance into a collection where gender codes are debunked.
Pressman is enthusiastic about the collaboration. “I think this collection wants everyone looking all dolled up, and when I say everyone, I mean everyone,” she continues. “Balmain x Barbie is a collab that goes beyond fashion, dropping limits and blurring out rules. It’s about setting the spirit of freedom and empowerment, bringing out the true you — loud, proud, and pink. Being human is and should always be a celebration of diversity and with this collection I think Balmain and Barbie not only reinforce that, they are celebrating it in a big way. Today's Barbie wholeheartedly embraces everyone’s extraordinary beauty and possibilities.”
Diaz-McDermott couldn’t agree more. “I think Issa and I share the color wheel of gender identity and expression is so vast,” he says. “That’s the beauty of the community — it’s so diverse and I think we represent very unique niches and ideas within that community.”
Pop culture meets couture in its execution. Within the capsule is a reimagining of Rousteing’s now-iconic Fabergé dresses (from autumn/winter 2012) bedazzled all over in magenta Swarovskis. The Balmain maze motif goes Barbie pink especially for this collection. Did you know that they’ve both been around for over 50 years? Ageless, I know.
The silhouette is broad-shouldered and snatched around the waist — think ‘90s music video-ready silk satin suits, crop tops, and the mini dresses made famous by Rousteing’s leggy Balmain Army (which Barbie herself is part of), cheeky maillots that double as bodysuits, and statement outerwear. The accessories are made for living out your Barbie dreams. You can literally take the crown with a tiara or make-pretend you’re being showcased in a plastic box of your own with the tote.
It’s a collection made out of dreams — dreams that will power you through the freedom to express your true self, embrace what you truly are and those around you. Rousteing once told the New York Times that “Barbie represents a joyful dream world. There’s nothing wrong with a dream. But let’s push the dream, and not the dream of the 1950s or 1960s, but 2022.”
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Balmain Paris Manila is on the ground floor of The Shoppes at Solaire Resort & Casino.
Photographed by SHAIRA LUNA
Makeup by JOHNSON ESTRELLA
Assistant hair stylist MORIEL GIAN FLORES