Styling is often a thankless job - yet we have so much to thank Andrew Mukamal for. Not only did the creative bestow upon us Hailey Bieber’s thonged Tom Ford for Gucci dress at the GQ Men Of The Year party last month, but he single-handedly fuelled fashion media during the summer of 2023, thanks to his momentous styling run with Margot Robbie throughout the Barbie press tour.
From kaleidoscopic Pucci prints to striped Hervé Léger bandage dresses, the actress’ press tour wardrobe was nothing short of spectacular. Mattel fans thought so too, and such was the enormity of the buzz surrounding Mukamal’s work that the stylist partnered up with Rizzoli to create Barbie: The World Tour book. Barbiecore’s grip on society was truly a force to be reckoned with.
“Margot is a dream and just lovely through and through,” the stylist says over Zoom. “When I was showing Margot ideas, and I was showing her a couple of the more precise referential moments, she immediately lit up, and I saw her excitement in that. I live in a bubble. I do everything and there aren’t many people giving me feedback. So, when a client then has that spark, that informs me to say, ‘Okay, let's move in that direction.’ Fortunately with Barbie, it is so rich with references, research and history, that when I started, it was like flood gates opened.”
© GettyRiding the much-deserved momentum of his viral work, Mukamal has teamed up with Barbie directly to create his very own ‘Styled By Series’ Barbie doll. The collection celebrates the work and personal vision of those who have shaped fashion and culture through their work.
“It was just very organic,” he says of the partnership. “I had lived in that world for over a year already at that point, but while I was working on the Barbie press tour, I wasn't actually in direct contact with Mattel. I was doing it on my own, secretly researching and obsessing over Barbie and the many decades of history that came with it. Then much to my joy and excitement, the Mattel team and Barbie fans around the world recognised what I did and that was when Mattel reached out.”
Mukamal conducted extensive research when sourcing Robbie’s press tour inventory - rifling through the archives of luxury brands such as Chanel, Valentino, Moschino and Versace. This helped to inform his own Barbie doll’s aesthetic: “I really noticed that with all of my favourite dolls that I had discovered through my research, a lot of them had this element of tactile play or a way for the human to engage with the doll in a new or exciting way. For example Day-to-Night Barbie from 1985, which was one of the first Barbies that I really connected with when I was researching and ultimately led to one of the looks that we did on the Barbie press tour.”
© Getty
© Getty
© Getty
© Getty ImagesThe stylist nods to the hot pink Versace skirt-suit worn by Robbie for the film’s Seoul premiere. Featuring sharp white contrasting lapels, a subtle, single-breasted design and decorative pickets with a feather-light pussybow blouse tucked into the tailored piece, the ensemble was a contemporary take of the beloved Eighties doll. The look was finished with an oversized, crystal-encrusted Judith Leiber phone bag for a retro in-office twist, naturally.
“That doll really stuck with me - the way that she had multiple outfits within her one outfit,” Mukamal continues. “It encouraged this whole activity of styling, which is obviously my job and what I love to do. That whole activity was included in that one box - and it wasn't just dressing and undressing, but also wearing things differently from one look to the next. For me, it was the idea of trying to create that action and that interaction for whoever was going to pick up my doll.”
Mukamal’s doll offers three outfits for the price of one, yet the stylist places emphasis on the playful versatility the fashionable figurine offers: “I realised that she actually has three plus outfits because you can combine the clothes in ways that I didn't even think of when I was first designing the doll. That in itself is exactly the spark of joy that I was hoping I would give to somebody, and I gave it to myself when I opened the box.”
He delves deeper into this aspect of creative self-experimentation: “It's obviously what I'm passionate about, but it's also my profession. There's something exciting about inspiring a child, young person or an adult. Especially for somebody who's young and looking for who they are in the world and where they fit in. To be part of that self-discovery process for somebody - that feels really inspiring and purposeful to me.”
© Barbie
© Barbie
© BarbieOne would assume that with Barbie, styling doesn’t need to be functional. Unlike real life clients, Barbie is motionless, yet for Andrew that didn’t negate her personality: “I wanted to treat it like Barbie herself was calling me and asking me to style her for a really big moment - which is sort of what my relationship is with a lot of my clients. Barbie obviously is a very busy woman. Many of my clients are very busy women. They have a lot of different things that they need to accomplish in their day. You also want to capture the essence of who they are and then amplify that essence and make it into the best version of that you could imagine in this exact moment. Everything that I love about fashion and style is about communicating non-verbally.”
How did he do this with his Barbie? By including the character’s iconic accessories, think heeled mules and sunglasses, and a lot of pink. Not to mention, a wistful tug on the heartstrings.
© GettyAmid today’s culture of overconsumption, nostalgia stands as fashion’s strongest currency - something Mukamal understands like no other: “The signature for the press tour was a little bit of a formula. I wanted to celebrate Barbie throughout the decades and modernise her - bringing all of these iconic looks right into 2023, into everybody's minds, and phones, and screens. There were so many men and women who said, that was my first Barbie, or I remember that doll, and suddenly they were like a child again in that in that moment. It took them out of their life for that one second.”
That’s the real magic of both fashion and Barbie. The doll evokes a time before AI, when parents still did your taxes, and the only ‘Trump’ that mattered was Top Trumps. And Mukamal is the orchestrator of that escapism - bringing Barbie to life one sequin at a time.
Yet, with the stylist drawing from a roster of stellar labels for the press tour, a pressing question remains. If he let his Barbie loose on Rodeo Drive, where would she go? “Honestly, it would probably be Saks because there is the most variety. She would probably be in a private VIP shopping room with everything pink already pulled in her size. And if she wasn't, I would make sure that she called me with 24 hours notice beforehand next time she went over there.”
The Barbie Styled by Andrew Mukamal will be available starting 12/11 at 9 am PT exclusively on Mattel Creations for members of Barbie Club 59, then opening to the public on December 12th at 9 pm PT at Mattel Creations and Amazon, with an SRP of $50.
