World's Most Expensive Barbie Unveiled: Over Half Million Dollar Canturi Barbie

The Worlds Most Expensive Barbie

To coincide with the launch of the Barbie® Basics™ Collection in Australia, Mattel has engaged internationally celebrated jewelry designer Stefano Canturi to create a world first, the rarest and most expensive Barbie ever made. Price? $545,000. USD



Valued at over $AUD600,000 and featuring a rare Australian pink diamonds, Stefano has created the ultimate accessories for Barbie in his signature Cubism style.

Barbie is decorated with a stunning Canturi neckpiece made up of 3.00 carats of white diamonds surrounding a collectible 1.00ct square emerald (cut) pink diamond:



A diamond Cubism ring sparkling on her right hand completes the jewelry set:


The pink diamond was especially hand-picked for & inspired by Barbie and is a registered tendered stone from the Australian Argyle mine. The 1.00ct square emerald (cut) diamond, notable for its distinctive purplish pink hue, is a rare and unique collector’s item, and it is substantially more valuable than its white diamond equivalent. A style icon such as Barbie commands a rare, unique pink diamond such as this one.


above: Stefano Canturi with his special Barbie

Having personally created history making jewels for Academy Award winning films and many of the worlds most influential women, its only natural that Canturi should apply his meticulous attention to detail to creating a piece that marries Barbie’s confidence and feminine style, and his timeless Cubism jewelry.




Stefano states… "Barbie is iconic and so I didn't just want to cover her with diamonds, I wanted the jewelry design to pay homage to her modern yet timeless style, this is why I applied my Cubism design concept to her look; it is perfect for her.”



above: Jewellery designer Stefano Canturi and Mattel Principle designer Robert Best pose with the world's most expensive Barbie doll at the Barbie Basics Collection Launch during Rosemount Australian Fashion Week Spring in Sydney, Australia. ( Photo by Robert Gray/Getty Images AsiaPac)

“With the launch of the Barbie Basics collection here in Australia we wanted to give the launch a unique Australian perspective, so we engaged Stefano Canturi to design the ultimate accessories for Barbie, an Australian pink diamond jewelry suite. Stefano’s signature style fits perfectly with the Barbie brand… modern, yet timeless…" Kate Carroll, Brand Manager — Barbie, Mattel Australia.

all images courtesy of Stefano Canturi and Mattel®

Be sure to check out this post that shows each of the barbie Basics glammed up by famous fashion designers

Disney Hips Up Their Plushies & Classic Characters Become Cool.

UPDATE 2013: Apparently these were too hip for Disney customers. I'm sad to say the line has been discontinued.

Original post: Disney has been really good about expanding their brand to include things that would appeal to hipsters of all ages. For the last decade or more everything from their films to their toys, their couture jewelry and collectibles have included modern artsy versions in addition to the classic ones.

The latest are their new soft plush toys that were inspired by the urban vinyl toy culture. The modern looking 12" tall toys called Pook-A-Looz (okay, so the name sucks) were designed to capture the personalities of iconic Disney characters in an edgy, offbeat way.



Sassy and fun, the new line of plush features more than 30 wide-ranging characters from Buzz Lightyear and Cheshire Cat to Muppets and Jack Skellington. Shown below are a few of them for you (keep in mind, there are more than just those shown below.. such as Eeyore, Dumbo and other beloved childhood favorites).

Mickey and Minnie:

Woody and Buzz Lightyear:

Snow White, Dopey and Grump:

Peter Pan and Tinkerbell:

Winnie The Pooh, Tigger and Piglet:
:
Alice, Cheshire Cat, The Mad Hatter & the Queen Of Hearts:

Goofy, Donald and Pluto:


“We focused on capturing one key element, gesture or trait of each character during the design process. We wanted the look to be very unique, quirky and cool,” said Jose Zamora, lead designer for the DCP products. “When you think of the Queen of Hearts, you think of her mouth, so we brought that out in the design. With the Cheshire Cat, you think of the teeth. So we focused on that famous grin.”

To help promote the new plushies, there will be a series of “Pook-a-Sodes”, videos on the Disney Living YouTube channel. The first one, with Pook-A-Looz Mickey as a ‘Gentleman Caller’ is shown below:

The Disney Living Facebook fan page and @disneyliving Twitter feed will also offer additional content and forums for fans to win prizes, share content and connect. The 12" Pook-A-Looz cost between $7.99 and $12.99 and can be purchased at Disney Parks, The Disney Store and Toys R Us.

Who's The Man? Artist Rudy de Belgeonne, That's Who.

Who’s the Man is an epic installation of a thousand individual hand-painted panels with words used to describe and define ‘man’ by artist Rudy de Belgeonne. The installation will form the centerpiece of an exhibition which opens at London's The Future Gallery in June 2010.



'Every type of man you’ve ever been called, ever felt like, ever known’

Inspired by all the weird and wonderful names he’s been called over the years, Rudy plays with the ever-changing identity and categorisation of the modern man by creating definitions of masculinity packaged as products, as each word becomes a logo in glossy seductive enamel colours: Hero, God, King, Scoundrel, Rogue, Brute, Bad Boy, Love God, Fancy Dan, Mama Man, Sonofabitch, Sonofagun, Bloke, Joe Schmoe, Golden Boy, Nancy Boy…and on and on…




Five years in the making, Who’s the Man is a series of 1000 typographic works painted in beautiful shiny signwriter’s enamel on wooden panels. The installation of 1000 original paintings will be exhibited alongside limited edition sets of different sub-groups – Good Guys, Bad Guys, Gay Guys, Insults, movie references and so on.


above: SwineFiendDevilBrute, 1118mm x 840mm, Giclee print, edition of 25

Presented in this way each word becomes a logo, advertising a response to the ever-changing male identity, defined by morality, sexuality and the body. Using seductively glossy colours, each word is painted in a style that reflects its meaning – either literal or subconscious – referencing our language, typography, brands and visual culture.


above left: Superman Lover, 840mm x 1118mm special edition of 10, hand-painted giclee w 23ct gold leaf
above right: BAM-GRD, 840mm x 1118mm, Giclee, edition of 25

On the simplest level, Who’s the Man is an encyclopaedic and decorative texture of emotionally resonant colours and designs, but the playful placement of each panel reads left to right, top to bottom as a witty poem or narrative, where word associations throw up questions in the mind of the viewer about their own attitudes and expectations of masculinity.


above left: 16 Big Shots, 1626mm x 1118mm, Giclee print, edition of 25
above right: Space Cowboy Gangster of Love

The entire work (5m x 4m) will be accompanied by a limited-edition series of hand re-touched prints of each of the various subsets.

There will be an opportunity to purchase limited edition pieces at the exhibition: on sale will be the 1,000-panelled installation and a series of hand re-touched giclee prints in limited editions of 10. Visitors may also request a special commission by Rudy de Belgeonne on wooden panels.


above: 16 Lovermen, 700mm x 500mm, hand painted, enamel on wood, edition of 10

Exhibition details:
Thursday 3 – Tuesday 8 June 2010
10.00 – 18.30

The Future Gallery
5 Newport Street, London WC2H 7HY
T: +44 (0)20 3301 4727

Sponsored by:
Pearl and Coutts, quality residential and commercial property lettings in London
Courvoisier The Future 500, an exclusive network of 800 rising stars across the UK



About the artist:
Rudy de Belgeonne is a Slade-trained artist who’s fascination with puzzles and gameplay led him to work for many years new media as an interactive games designer. In addition to his painting, Rudy has worked on a wide range of projects – both personal and professional – that occupy the space where art & technology meet. He lives and works in London.

all images and info courtesy of the artist and gallery