Barbie Dream Date was a versatile doll: released in 1983, the doll came with an elaborate fuchsia gown with purple piping and a sequinned top. The belted waist also featured a small satin flower.
The key detail, though, was a long ruffle trail that you could rearrange in different configurations. You could for example recreate with it a series of stratified layers à la Capucci or just opt for a grand (and slightly ridiculous) Dynasty-style.
Barbie Dream Date came with other friends such as PJ and Christie, dressed in the same gown, but in different shades like gold and yellow with orange piping and azure with blue details.
The ghost of Barbie Dream Date, or rather of her gown, reappeared during Moschino's S/S 15 runway show, and returned yesterday evening on Marc Jacobs' runway.
The collection was an extravaganza of frothy ruffles, bold shoulders, huge sleeves and shoulders and waist flowers that gradually became bigger and bigger till they seemed to engulf models. Lamés and sequins gave a metallic sparkle to the pastel palette.
Sure, there were more wearable pieces such as coats, jackets, slipdresses and an ample knitwear offer, matched with interesting bags and crystal chockers, but the fantasy "Barbie Dream Date mood" prevailed.
Yet if you sat and pondered for a while you realised that there wasn't really Barbie Dream Date behind all this: since it was first created, Barbie has always donned garments inspired by those created by real fashion designers and this collection reeked of several other designers such as Halston and Chanel, though it mainly moved from Yves Saint Laurent.
The multi-coloured suit with a cropped jacket and the jacket with rows of buttons (matched with Stephen Jones' boaters) were indeed copies of Saint Laurent's Rive Gauche designs from 1980-81, as interpreted maybe by the late illustrator Antonio Lopez in one of his stylish sketches.
In a way this collection was a glamorous sequel to the designs in the S/S18 season, but didn't add anything new to the fashion discourse in New York.
There was actually another incident at the show that seemed like an old déjà-vu: the runway started an hour-and-a-half late as some clothes hadn't arrived yet (Jacobs is not new to disruptions in the time schedule…).
As a consequence, some people left to catch their flights, others moved onto Rihanna's Savage X Fenty's show; those who stayed were left to reminisce about the early '80s, play with the ruffles of their Barbie Dream Date dolls and consider the future of Marc Jacobs, that, at the moment, looks rather uncertain and more or less detached from the reality of the current fashion industry.
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