Originally published in TFI News: March/April 2009
Barbie celebrated her 50th birthday throughout the world collaborating with some of the world’s most influential fashion houses. Mattel Canada collaborated with five Canadian brands to design exclusive product lines: David Dixon created an entire line of Barbie-inspired clothing which debuted on opening night at LG Fashion Week; Cake Beauty developed a collection of creams, mists, scrubs and even a signature scent; Town Shoes designed a line of Barbie shoes for women; Glenn Dixon’s line of home furnishings and accessories are currently on display at The Bay; and Foxy Originals’ jewellery line was inspired by Barbie’s original black and white swimsuit from 1959.
Co-branding your fashion company with another brand can create challenges for designers; ensuring your brand is the right fit and shares the same core values is important when corroborating on a partnership.
TFI News had the opportunity to interview Jennifer Kluger from Foxy Originals who created a line of Barbie-inspired jewellery after being introduced to the Mattel Licensing team through the Toronto Fashion Incubator.
Why do you feel your brand is a good fit with Barbie?
For us, Barbie represents a gal who lives her dreams, uses fashion in many fun ways to demonstrate self-expression and of course, she is obsessed with pink! Foxy shares the same vision of fun, fashion and a world accented with lots of pink. Barbie is also continually evolving with women and girls of all ages and the Foxy Originals line worn by women of all ages—we think the brand collaboration is a great fit.
What are the challenges working with an established corporate brand?
Overall it has been great working with an established brand like Mattel. Because Barbie is such a huge icon, the brand staff must do a lot to ensure that the intellectual property and design integrity of it is upheld. This involves many steps in the approval process but, really, it comes with the territory of working with a large corporation. We were fortunate to start the project with Mattel in the summer so there was enough time to get everything through the approval process.
What are you hoping to achieve with the collaboration?
We are hoping to bring something to our current Foxy Originals customers that will bring smiles to their faces. Also, we see this as an opportunity to introduce Barbie fans to the Foxy Originals brand.
What would your advice be to others when a co-branding opportunity is presented?
Make sure there is potential for mutual benefit between the two lines in partnership. The brand you’re partnering with must offer an opportunity to grow your customer base, increase your distribution or raise your awareness. And for the brand you work with, your line must do the same. Also, make sure you have enough time dedicated to the project to see it through effectively.
What does the Barbie connection mean to you?
The Barbie by Foxy Originals project allowed us to think back to our first encounters with fashion through our own Barbie dolls—dressing them up in fantasy outfits and imagining their lives. So it was a special honour to be picked by Mattel to produce a line for Barbie. We are very proud of this collection and look forward to the launch. Our inner child got very spoiled through the process.
The Barbie by Foxy Originals line is on sale now at www.foxyoriginals.com and in independent boutiques across Canada. For more information, visit www.barbie50.ca.
