California Apparel News

Barbie has a new man in her life. Since splitting from Ken earlier this year, Barbie has hooked up with designer Paul Frank of Paul Frank Industries Inc. (PFI), which, through a partnership with Mattel Inc., will launch a limited-edition Barbie doll this fall for the Holiday 2004 season.

The Paul Frank Barbie, clad in the designer’s signature sky-blue Julius pajamas and matching slippers, made an early debut at New York’s Toy Fair in February and appeared among the Paul Frank product offerings at the MAGIC International trade show in Las Vegas that same month. The Paul Frank Barbie, which retails for $59, is packaged in a box resembling the deacute;cor of a Paul Frank Store. The doll is accessorized with a Paul Frank shopping bag, a Julius purse and a skull tank top.

Frank established his Costa Mesa, Calif.–based design house in 1995 as an accessories company. At the start of his career, he was inspired by Barbie’s simple plastic purses. He even modeled some of his first purse designs after Barbie accessories. The designer’s line includes women’s sportswear, accessories, pajamas, swimwear, intimates, T-shirts and home furnishings. Recently, Frank signed a licensing agreement with Vestal Inc. to make watches under the name PF Timing and another agreement with Baum Vision to make sunglasses under the name PF Optometrics.

Frank’s partnership with Mattel represents the growth and success of his career.

“I’m finally being recognized as a designer,” Frank said. “Coming full circle from admiring Barbie accessories to getting to make my own Barbie—that’s pretty neat.”

Previously, Frank collaborated with the Sanrio Co. Ltd., Vans Inc., John Deere and the artist Shag, among others. He now joins a prestigious club of designers—including Bob Mackie, Nolan Miller, Christian Dior, Vera Wang and Kate Spade—whose creations have helped to make Barbie a universal fashion icon.

“It’s like getting your name on a blimp because everybody knows what a Barbie is,” Frank said. “It’s destined to be a collectible before it comes out.”

First created in 1959 by Mattel co-founder Ruth Handler, Barbie and her fashions have “been reflective of every era,” according to Deanna Kangas, general manager of Barbie collector marketing for the El Segundo, Calif.–based toy manufacturer. Kangas said Mattel invited Frank to design a Barbie because of his line’s increasing popularity and broad appeal.

“As Paul Frank started emerging, it seemed like a fun trend to reflect 2004,” she explained. According to Kangas, the Huntington Beach designer and Barbie, both Southern California natives, are a “perfect match.”

Kangas said she believes the Paul Frank Barbie will appeal to a wide age group and a variety of collectors because of its “California cool” characteristics. “It’s so cute; it’s fun, and it makes you smile,” she said.

Frank worked closely with Barbie designers to create his doll, even choosing the mold for her head based on an old doll he remembered seeing in a Barbie Bazaar Magazine he bought as a young designer. Frank said he chose a head with “multicultural features” to represent “every culture and all nationalities” and appeal to Paul Frank customers worldwide.

PFI will handle sales and distribution of the doll, which will be available at Paul Frank Stores in the United States; Paul Frank flagship stores in Tokyo, London, Athens and Osaka; and specialty retailers and department stores. The dolls will also be available at www.barbiecollector.com and through Barbie mailorder catalogs.

A second doll, wearing red Julius pajamas, will be released in smaller numbers and will be sold exclusively at Paul Frank Stores. The Paul Frank Web site, www.paulfrank.com, will feature a countdown to the doll’s Oct.1 release date.

—Jessica Kantor