For costume designerShiona Turini, who’s worked withBeyoncé,Issa RaeandFuture, Barbie is much more than just a childhood toy — the iconic doll created in 1959 is her first-ever “fashion icon.”
So collaborating with the brand to style a diverse group of dolls for the popular Instagram account@BarbieStyleduringBlack History Monthis a career milestone: “It’s a huge deal for me,” Turini, costume designer of the filmQueen & Slim,tells PEOPLE exclusively of the digital campaign, out today. “I have a really close family and when the kids hung out, a lot of our time together was spent playing with Barbies.”
The stylist and costume designer remembers the brand as being at the forefront of the diversity movement — the first African-American Barbie, Christie, was released in 1968, thenBlack Barbie hit shelves in 1980, and Mattel (the famed toy manufacturing company behind Barbie) has since launched petite, plus-size and curvy dolls with a variety of skin tones, eye colors, hair textures and more.
“I’ll never forget being in New York as a young black girl and finding aBlack Barbie, and especially a Black Barbie birthday set,” Turini says. “Barbie is a historic brand that was inclusive before it was trendy.”
“I got to see and play with the first Black Barbie. I was really impressed because she had an Afro, she was very dark skinned and she even had this little red pick for her hair, which is so culturally significant for my community,” she shares. “I was really impressed and kind of blown away.”
Her four-part campaign showcases several non-traditional Barbies, including a doll in a wheel chair, plus-size and curvy dolls, dolls with Afro hairstyles, traditional braids, wigs, bald heads and more.
She continues: “There was one shoot in particular that I had done forNylonmagazine with models of all different skin tones in all different shades of nudes. It was one of my favorite projects I’ve ever worked on. I thought it came together beautifully, and I knew I wanted that to be reflected in this project.”
Mattel
There is also a monochromatic collection that features a printed green floor and backdrop to make the clothes really stand out.
Now that the campaign is out Turini says she’s most excited to share the project with her cousins.
“I’ve been looking through old pictures and found one of me and my cousins with a Barbie ice cream shop at a sleepover,” she shares. “I can’t wait to show my cousins, who I spent so many years playing Barbies with, what I’ve been working on.”
source: people.com
