Barbie Project Runway 2013

So here we were again, gathered at Judy and Angela’s house where all their Barbie’s from challenges past lined up on their mantel.  There were three of us this year.  And we agreed that voting for each other would have been silly as it would surely result in a three-way-tie.  So we agreed that we’d let Kristina, her husband Nils, and their daughter, Lilly pick the winner—the first time ever we allowed Judges in our Barbie Project Runway challenge. 

Judy and Angela were hosting.  Judy picked the challenge: Fantasy.  I found out almost as soon as she said what the challenge would be that Judy had been itching to make wings for a Barbie.  Angela is always a wild card.  And as I have already made more than my share of mermaid gowns, I thought I’d pick another inspiration.  I went to my favorite non-humanoid creature: the unicorn.  I began sketching almost immediately. 

I picked up a doll for $1.99 at Goodwill.  I gathered my materials from the craft stores.  I didn't have much of an idea of how I would create the horn, but I wanted to have a doll in a shimmering white fabric looking like the most absolutely magical unicorn to ever grace the world.  I picked up some Sculpey clay and began to experiment with it.  The horns I attached to an anchoring head band seemed to be the easiest designs to work with. 

I also wanted to dazzle with sheer imagination.  I painted the doll’s face and body with white acrylic paint to create tattoos you might find in an enchanted forest.  I glued glittering gems directly to her skin.  I found a shimmery fabric I loved.  It looked like an aura of light that might surround a unicorn.  If a unicorn assumed a human’s shape like the Lady Amalthea did in Peter S. Beagle’s The Last Unicorn, I would expect strange colors and sparkles where a normal human would be solid and plain. 

The doll’s hair began to look a little lackluster, so I fashioned a wig with doll hair from the local craft store.  Originally it hung long, but the long curls seemed to detract from the dress.  I decided to keep the hair a little shorter to create an Afro effect.  I was also going to include a feather boa tail, but the boa distracted from the dress and its ruching.  So I left the tail out.  This design really advanced my sense of editing.  I think my dress is just as good for the things I left off as for the things I put on it. 

The judges looked over the dolls carefully.  Kristina was really pulling for Angela’s High Priestess design. 

Angela's High Priestess

But the clear winner was Judy’s fairy.  The cellophane wings won two out of three judges over.  So Judy is the winner of Barbie Project Runway 2013.  The girl broke her own self-proclaimed curse! 

The Winner of Barbie Project Runway 2013

I’m glad Judy won.  Her wings were gorgeous!  And I still love my design.  It is satisfying to be able to send a look down the runway you are behind one hundred percent.  And I got my unicorn ball gown out of my mind, and I can’t wait to see what the next challenge will be.