Results tagged “barbie”

       

Fifty years after making her debut, Barbie celebrated her semicentennial birthday with a worldwide array of products, fashion shows, and parties. In Toronto, the brand partnered with The Bay to create one of two Barbie Signature Shops in North America. Large, pink billboards near The Bay added hype to the March 16 unveiling of the “traffic-stopping” store windows and retail destination, but the resulting display leaves much to be desired. Perhaps the stylists were confusing a minimalist intent with its barren outcome, or maybe Toronto Barbie is the newest victim of the economic crisis. Either way, the low-budget effort is evident and consistent with a brand that has seen its global sales drop 21% in the last quarter. Comparing this to Shanghai’s six-storey, pink and fuchsia flagship wonderland, you start questioning how all of the girly imagination and fantasy evaporated from this city.

Denis Gagnon is wearing sunglasses, indoors, and it’s not even night. Although, the trays of emptied wine glasses could fool those uninitiated in this fashion-media rite of passage: the Holt Renfrew cocktail party. This year, to launch the newly named LG Fashion Week, we’re self-congratulating in the recently reno’d contemporary design area. It’s a clever change in location: “They used to have it in accessories, but who’s going to pick up a $1,600 bag?” posits one smart editor. “Here I actually want to shop!” It’s also very shiny and very bright—just not quite bright enough for shades.