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Emulate the current fashion of the world’s most famous doll with six different looks, writes CHEONG PHIN.

The nautical-inspired dress and matching handbag from Jet Set Barbie capsule.

Celebrate Barbie’s 50th anniversary with this special blue T-shirt from the Sports Barbie capsule collection.

APART from diamonds, every girl’s other best friend has to be her Barbie Doll.

According to its makers, Mattel Inc., 90 per cent of girls between ages three and 10 own at least one such doll.

Born in 1959, the 29cm plastic sensation originally known as Barbie Millicent Roberts, turns 50 this year, having reflected the changing role of women in the world.

“Barbie represents the best in women. Over the years, she has shown young girls around the world that they can be anything they want to be — a lawyer, a doctor, or an astronaut — and look fabulously fashionable doing it. She is a modern-day icon,” said designer Kimora Lee Simmons for Baby Phat in the American publication of InStyle magazine.

In a strategic move to reinvigorate the Barbie brand beyond its traditional toy market share, Mattel Inc.

is aggressively marketing Barbie as a fashion brand by embarking on design collaborations with Vera Wang, Jeremy Scott and the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA).

The new strategy kicked off last February at the fashion week in New York with an extraordinary runway show of Barbie-looking models strutting the catwalk in unique designs from 50 invited designers from the CFDA that included Vera Wang, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Diane von Furstenberg, Alexander Wang and Kenneth Cole, to name a few.

Ranging from swimsuits to evening gowns and pink dresses, each look was unmistakably Barbie-inspired complete with thick blonde ponytail or bigteased hair, cat-eye sunglasses and hot-pink strappy Christian Louboutin heels.

The 50th anniversary of the iconic doll was also marked with the opening of the first House of Barbie in Shanghai’s trendy Huai Hai Road recently where girls and women can beautify themselves with a new line of colour cosmetics, experiment with “plastic smooth” skin treatments and shop for clothes for themselves and their dolls.

Mattel Inc.’s fashion interest in Asia was further augmented with a collaboration with Thailand’s No. 1 fashion house, JASPAL, to create a special 50th Barbie Anniversary collection based on Barbie’s style-savvy, boundary-crossing essence.

“We feel honoured to be part of this milestone celebration and hope the special collection captures the essence of today’s fashion.

We have been inspired by Barbie’s innate fashion style throughout her 50 years, and used this inspiration to design a contemporary collection of clothing and accessories for the modern woman,” said JASPAL assistant managing director Viseth Singhsachathet.

Called Barbie by JASPAL, the collection is made up of six mini capsule ranges and was recently launched here at its 1 Utama boutique featuring three Barbie-inspired looks styled by young local fashion designers Nurita Harith, Alexandrea Yeo and Amir Luqman.

Ranging from simple printed T-shirt tops to denim trench coat and edgy separates, you too can emulate Barbie’s contemporary style with the different looks of the capsule collections of apparel and accessories.

GLAMOROUS Barbie
For dress-up nights to parties or clubs, this range includes the brand’s classic dark denim highwaisted skirts and hot pants to match a similar denim trench coat which can be worn over a laced pink top and with strands of pearls.

A black T-shirt with a symbolic love heart in red sequins and Barbie image is given added glamour with short, laced puffed sleeves while a black and white polka dot dress with Barbie images looks hot when teamed with pink stockings and gloves.

JET SET Barbie
This nautical-inspired capsule offers ideal summer holiday styles with striped cotton dresses in red, blue and white, and sky blue knit dresses with playful prints.

A red-and-white polka dot trench coat makes a stylish cover up for cooler days together with white knotted belts and dangling anchor pendant to accentuate the nautical feel to this collection.

SPORTY Barbie
Inspired by outdoor sports and the active side of Barbie, this capsule includes hooded velour jumpsuits in pink and blue T-shirts with 50th Barbie Anniversary logos worn under white cotton rompers and heather grey cotton fleece tops full of miniature accessory prints.

ROCK Barbie
Staying in tune with the current 80s revival, this capsule is inspired by the punk rock of that era and includes midriff off-shoulder T-shirts worn over black tank tops and bleached skinny jeans.

A pair of red heels and a metal-studded belt completes the Rock Chick look.

VINTAGE Barbie
Feminine blouses and short cardigans are given a romantic touch in this capsule with printed little stars, diamonds and ribbons using a wet-onwet technique.

The result is a sweet collection of 50s retro tops and tulle skirts that nod to the early days of Barbie.

CLASSIC Barbie
This capsule is all about Barbie’s classic black and white dresses that include a short, sleeveless cotton satin dress with a ballooning skirt and folded pleats on the bodice.

It is worn with a matching bow belt that is sprinkled with sparkling crystals for a glamorous night out.

Another option is a cotton-satin pussybow blouse with a diamante-encrusted Barbie image on the bow that is worn with pants and pearls.