Claudia Schiffer Gets the Barbie Treatment in Versace and Balmain
Supermodel Claudia Schiffer is getting two new Barbies in her likeness for her 50th birthday. The runway icon already received the Barbie treatment in 2017, when the company released a Versace-wearing Claudia doll. Her new figure will be outfitted with custom looks by Donatella Versace and Oliver Rousteing of Balmain.
The designers took inspiration from the model's past favorite looks. Donatella delved into archival inspiration, adapting a Versace dress that Schiffer wore while walking the label’s Fall/Winter 1994 show. She created what Schiffer describes as a “dreamy, blue dress with a signature Versace corset bodice” for the doll to wear. The designer said of the runway moment, “The whole world immediately saw her as the personification of Barbie. Two strong women who do not need to be empowered by anyone.”
Rousteing echoed that sentiment, saying that he and the Balmain Army are constantly inspired by Schiffer’s confidence and individuality. The Balmain dress featured on Schiffer’s Barbie is a recreation of the dress worn by the supermodel in the label’s 2016 campaign, an embellished black look with a waist-cinching belt and dramatic details.
Schiffer says that the unique birthday gift is an honor that holds sentimentality, as her earliest childhood encounters with fashion were dressing up Barbie dolls.
But the Claudia Barbies are not up for grabs–the model will exist exclusively as an editorial for the toy's @BarbieStyle Instagram page. Just like Schiffer, they are truly one-of-a-kind.
