Pla$tic & Fanta$tic

The winner of this year's annual TFI New Labels design competition will enjoy an added prize from everyone's favourite fashionista. One year after her 50th anniversary, Barbie® has teamed up with Toronto Fashion Incubator to award $10,000 in cash along with the $25,000 in prizes from ELLE Canada magazine.

For 17 years TFI's national competition has helped launch talents like David Dixon, Joeffer Caoc, NADA, Mercy, Katya Revenko, JUMA, Eugenia Leavitt and last year's FAREN to name just a few.

This year the playing field has been levelled. What could be more challenging than taking on the little black dress? Applicants must be professional Canadian women's wear apparel designers who have been in business three years or less.

Hurry! Deadline is November 24th.

Barbie Gone Wild

LG Fashion Week typically kicks off with cocktails amongst the brand labels at Holt Renfrew in what's called the Holt Renfrew Media Cocktail. With Canadian design on the table this week, Holts chose to highlight some Canadian designers they love and carry in the stores including Greta Constantine, Mikhael Kale, Jeremy Laing, Philip Sparks and Denis Gagnon.

Meanwhile, back in the tents the crowds were jonesing for a trip down memory lane. David Dixon was presenting the highly anticipated Barbie by David Dixon line (to be carried by the Bay, fall 2009) following his own fall collection. The tents were doused with Barbie top to bottom. And with inspiration like this one-of-a-kind Barbie hat (above, seen on National Post writer Nathalie Atkinson), I got to thinking of all the Barbies that were never made, but would fit in today.

Feel free to add to the list!

Girls Gone Wild Barbie
Social Climber Barbie
Reality TV Star Barbie (complete with her own US Weekly cover)
Ecoholic Barbie
Vegas Showgirl Barbie (feather headress included!)
DWI Barbie (comes with her own mugshot and ink stained fingertips)

Barbie Gets New Groove at 50

I loved Barbie as a kid and, I'll admit, far too long into my ‘tween years. My mother even made a birthday cake with Barbie for my 6th birthday. (The skirt of her huge, flowing dress was the cake part. Barbie stood motionless in a pile of delicious flour and frosting.)

So it's no surprise to me (or Mom) that I'm all ears about Barbie turning 50 this year. In celebration, Mattel Canada has hooked up with a few notable Canadians with special collections, including one of our favourite Canadian designers, David Dixon. He'll debut the first co-branded Barbie women's apparel line in Canada at LG Fashion Week in Toronto (March 16 - 21). Inspired by Barbie and made for women, the Barbie by David Dixon collection takes influence from modern and vintage styles. The pieces blend fabrications in Barbie's signature shade of pink, black and ivory.