Words: Kate Rintoul

Do you remember that feeling of getting the latest accessories for your Barbie?

The perfect little heels, ‘funky’ denim or princess ball gown?

Fashion is an essential part of of the fun of dolls, part of the reason Ken etc didn’t have quite the same allure.

For many aspiring designers and stylists deciding what their Barbies was going to wear was the earliest form of experimenting with fashion, more so when you branched out to make your own designs.

Realising that the stories behind fashion are more interesting than the imposed Barbie/ Ken narrative Japanese-inspired toy brand Harumika have created a whole range of toys that allow children (and grown ups with a little too much time on their hands) to create their own collections and brand.

Though I find the online-avatar aspect of the site a little unnerving, it is fantastic that it is now so easy for children to participate in creating fashion.

Further delight was to come when I heard that top London College of Fashion student, Anna Chong has worked with Harumika to create a small but perfectly formed capsule collection of Lady Ga Ga’s infamous outfits.

Chong put so much thought and energy into the collection that she even experimented with cold meats for weeks, trying everything from slami to finest parma ham to recreate Ga Ga’s show stopping meat-dress!

While this all might seem a little bizarre it is great to see innovative fashion celebrated and even better that an LCF student is at the forefront.

For more information about Anna visit her UAL Showtime page