Barbie partners with Balmain on ready-to-wear and NFT collections

Barbie’s parent company Mattel, Inc. has announced the launch of a partnership between the beloved doll brand and the French luxury house, Balmain.

The two household names have come together to present a ready-to-wear fashion and accessories line, as well as the creation of three one-of-a-kind non-fungible tokens (NFTs) of Barbie and Ken avatars. Each digital artwork comes with exclusive Barbie x Balmain pieces, bringing together both a digital and physical collection.

The NFTs will be available through Mattel Creations, via an online auction hosted by MintNFT.

The move to launch NFTs is part of the doll brands expansion into the metaverse. Mattel marked its place in the virtual space through the development of an e-commerce platform in 2020, for digital artwork surrounding Barbie.

As part of the partnership, the collaborative ready-to-wear line draws influence from Balmain’s aesthetic over the last decade, established by its creative director Olivier Rousteing. The 50 plus collection merges Barbie signatures with Balmain hallmarks, offering up a range of nostalgic 90’s designs with hints of “Barbie pink”.

“As our campaign images make very clear, Barbie and Balmain are embarking upon a distinctly multicultural, inclusive and always joy-filled adventure,” said Rousteing, in a statement. “For this collaboration, we are building upon the New French Style of Balmain’s most recent collections, once again showing that Balmain is inspired by the truly diverse and exciting beauty found on today’s Parisian boulevards and avenues. This collection also rejects any arbitrary gender limitations - this is an almost 100 percent unisex collection.”

The collection will be available to purchase at Balmain stores, its e-commerce site, Mattel Creations and retailers worldwide from January 13.