The former Taiwanese makers of Barbie dolls are now aiming to create a Barbie with Taiwanese characteristics.
The Meining Workshop in Taishan District (泰山), New Taipei City (新北市), earlier this month launched a costume design scheme to drum up new ideas for Taiwanese-style costumes for the “Mattel girls.”
Five designers of various ages were invited to the design program, all hoping to come up with design concepts that could interpret Taiwanese history and culture, New Taipei Doll’s Community Cooperative Association manager Ku Tsuei-eh (古翠娥) said.
Photo: CNA
Among the five was local designer Edelweiss Liu (劉美芬), who launched a collection of low--carbon clothing made of environment-friendly fabrics called “S.Cafe” — a material produced from coffee grounds — at the 2010 Shanghai Expo.
Liu once again focused on an environmental theme for the “Mattel girls.” She used eco-friendly fabrics that could be recycled and remanufactured to create a one-shoulder design that brings out feminine delicacy and sexiness, Ku said.
Another designer, Hsu Chiu-i (徐秋宜), said she used the color brick-red to create her motif, the “Farmer-ish,” which reflected a common yearning among 30-somethings for a simple life as a farmer.
Combining red, white and blue, Wu Su-chen (巫素珍) displayed a series of designs called the “Wedding gowns of eternal harmony.” Wu said her creations mixed cultural elements from the East and West by integrating Chinese styles, such as plum blossoms and qipao collars, with Victorian tiered skirts and Western-style long-tailed wedding gowns.
Designer Lin Ming-yi (林明宜), winner of a fashion design award in Japan, was also among the participants. By weaving various shades of pink fibers together, Lin said she hoped to convey the ideas of racial harmony and mutual tolerance.
Tainan University of Technology student Huang Yu-hui (黃郁惠), the youngest designer among the group and a winner of the Taiwan Fashion Design Award last year, launched a costume design produced through knitting techniques.
“Through diverse perspectives of the future, present and past generations, we hope to create a series of costume designs that can fit various age levels,” Ku said. “So we can transform from an original equipment manufacturing production site of Barbie Dolls for Western countries into a cultural creative manufacturer that produces our own Taiwan-brand ‘Mattel girls.’”
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