The movie star of the moment takes RUBY for a spin... We are honoured to be featured in the lastest issue of @nzhviva alongside a selection of New Zealand designers.
“Meet Toto, dressed in our new season Gemini Ariel Dress, finished with a larger-than-life bow! Viva Creative Director Dan Ahwa chatted to us on what it took to create 'Toto'.
Can you please tell us about your Barbie's look and why you chose to create this?
Naturally we started with drawing inspiration from our latest collection, looking to pieces that we could execute well at a miniature scale.
After some brainstorming, we settled on our Ariel Dress, the vibrant pink and dynamic ruching felt very 'Barbie'. Settling on the Ariel felt right but for this project we wanted to lean into the whimsy of Barbie's world, so we finished the piece off with a larger-than-life bow!
If your Barbie had a name, what would it be?
This question really got us thinking... The obvious answer would be RUBY, but we wanted to dig a little deeper. Internally we often reference The Wizard of Oz, using the 'Yellow Brick Road' as an analogy from goal mapping to event agendas, that's how we settled on 'Toto'. Toto, much like her namesake, is loyal to those she loves, kind, quick on her feet, courageous and oh so cute.
What was the process like recreating a signature design on this scale?
We had to implement the same design techniques we would use for human clothes, on a micro scale, and it took a few toiles to achieve the best techniques for construction. In the end, Toto was hand sewn into her forever piece with great love and care.
See some snaps our creative process below x
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