When Mattel announced a contest that would give fashion students at Ryerson University the chance to design their very own limited-edition Barbie doll, Christy Marcus saw more than just a shot at gaining a reputation and prize money. She recognized an opportunity to reconnect with her past.
And so, after hours of painstaking research and design, Inuit Legend Barbie was born.
"Before I had done the research, I had known nothing about [the Inuit]" Ms. Marcus said. "I really love what I found."
What she found was a rich culture many outsiders find difficult to understand. She also got the chance to connect with her Inuit grandmother, who died in 1998.
"By learning about Inuit art, I have a better understanding of my grandmother, what her life must have been like," she said. "She must have lived a traditional lifestyle."
Ms. Marcus, 21, won the contest and the $1,500 prize a year ago. The doll will be officially launched today and, in all, 5,000 Inuit Barbies will be available for sale through specialty toy stores in Canada starting Monday.
The Barbie, which took Ms. Marcus 50 hours to create, will put the fashion student's name next to famous designers such as Kate Spade, Versace, Christian Dior and Bob Mackie, all of whom have created glamorous costumes for the long-standing fashion icon.
Ms. Marcus said the postproduction Barbies have remained true to her vision and sketches. The slim and dark doll is a runway abstraction of Inuit dress, featuring faux-suede parka skirt, fake fur trim, arm bands and hand-painted fabric panels showing birds, wings and eyes inspired by Inuit artist Kenojuak Ashevak's painting The Enchanted Owl.
"It's not something you could go up north in," Ms. Marcus said. "I chose the arm bands instead of the long white gloves so synonymous with Barbie evening wear. I wanted her hair to be simple, put in a braid with a really simple choker."
Wendy Ward, business manager for Barbie Collector at Mattel Canada, said Ms. Marcus's design was the clear winner. "It had a lot of flavour of Canada. The different cut of dress, faux suede and ribbons gave [the doll]a unique flavour -- it had a lot of detail on it. You can't easily go out and purchase what looked like the fabrics Christie used."