Style news: A Barbie hotel room in Montreal, the first Indigenous-owned brand to hit Shopper’s Drug Mart shelves

The Barbie Dream Suite at Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth in Montreal will launch on Aug 24 as part of the The Barbie Dream Experiences collaboration by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and Mattel.Supplied

This week’s style news, buys and curiosities.

Barbiecore

Life-size dollhouse

It’s Barbie’s world, and we’re just a pink-hued door away from living in it. In partnership with Mattel Inc., the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth in Montreal has launched a new two-bedroom Barbie Dream Suite with interior design inspired by the travel-themed line of dolls and accessories. Now available to book from Aug. 24 to Sept. 30, 2024 ($1,499 a night), the suite can host four overnight guests or all-ages celebrations for up to 10 people – from a cocktail-serving pyjama party with pink bathrobes and slippers, to a birthday bash with a buffet, ice cream sundaes and Barbie cake. Taking the stylish escape to the next level, the VIP experience includes roundtrip airport transfer in a luxury Barbie-themed car, a mani-pedi with three Barbie-approved colours, signature cocktails and mocktails and more. Anybody can participate in the hotel’s Barbie-mania by picking up merch at the Barbie Boutique, or booking a themed afternoon tea with bright and savoury sandwiches, pastries and desserts at the hotel’s Rosélys Restaurant (restaurantroselys.com, $99 a person).

Satya Organic skincare, founded by Patrice Mousseau, is the first Indigenous-owned brand to be sold at Shopper’s Drug Mart.Supplied

Retail

Drugstore fix

Patrice Mousseau, a member of Fort William First Nation, is the founder and CEO of the first-ever Indigenous-owned brand to be carried in Shoppers Drug Mart. Mousseau, a former journalist at APTN and CBC Television, first developed Vancouver-based Satya Organic Skin Care’s best-selling Eczema Relief Stick ($29) in 2013 to treat her daughter’s skin condition. She bought a $15 crockpot off Facebook, and researched ingredients to create a science-backed, non-steroid and fragrance-free solution which she says cleared her daughter’s eczema in two days. Soon, people were buying her product out of her kitchen window, then at farmers’ markets and within two years from health-food stores. Used as an alternative to steroid eczema products, or for everything from itching, rashes and chafing, bug bites and wound or tattoo healing, Satya products are dermatologist and pediatrician-approved, have been touted by actress Selma Blair, and are now available in 1100 Shoppers stores across Canada (or online at satya.ca). “I can’t wait to walk into a store, see our product on the shelf, and hear my daughter proudly declare – that’s momma’s product!” says Mousseau in a press release.

Fry's Ties: The Life and Times of a Tie Collection by Stephen Fry.Supplied

Essential Reading

A stylish acquisition

There is plenty of ink paying homage to the necktie, however the personal and contemporary musings of Stephen Fry stand out in a new book simply called, Fry’s Ties. Fry shared photos of his ties on his Instagram account, @stephenfryactually, during lockdown (when the accessory was deemed unnecessary). Fans happily engaged in his posts which shared equal parts design and cultural history along with his brand of informed commentary. On his account and now collected in this book, he gives the low-down on the rise of Ralph Lauren in a shot of Polo neckties to listing the artistic and decorative inspiration during the 19th century that likely influenced retailer Arthur Liberty and the Liberty print. He lists The Mikado operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan and the attention to wallpaper and fabrics on stage “as trade between Europe and Japan flourished,” and the rise in popularity of the flowing lines of the Art Nouveau movement. There is function packed in too, with illustrations devoted to acing all styles of knots, included as well.

Able Made, an ethical and athleisure brand that helps benefit youth soccer initiatives, launched a collection that repurposed luxury fabric donations from Burberry.Supplied

In May, Prada released a limited-edition collection dubbed Adidas Football for Prada. The premise: marry the athletic company’s well-worn DNA in soccer-shoe design and technology with Prada’s luxury focus on materials and design details (a few sizes in one style are still available on prada.com). In July and ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the brand announced its partnership with the Chinese women’s national soccer team which included wardrobe for travel and off-field formal events. That same month, Able Made, an ethical and athleisure brand that helps benefit youth soccer initiatives, launched a collection that repurposed luxury fabric donations from Burberry. And this month, the Business of Fashion reported Premier League side Crystal Palace F.C. hired sports marketer Kenny Annan-Jonathan as a creative director to oversee its apparel and partnerships, and naturally, help boost merchandise sales.