Eric Delos Santos: ‘I love weddings. They’re mini-versions of the previous bridal gowns I made.’

We can always count on Facebook and Twitter for the latest buzz.  Recently, designers started writing status updates on how they were dressing up Barbie dolls. Tippi Ocampo and James Reyes had an exchange of tips and ideas on how to make the clothes, with Ocampo reminiscing about her childhood toys. It turned out they were participating in Ballet Barbie, an auction benefit of designer-clad Barbie dolls to raise funding for Ballet Philippines scholars and dancers.

A week after, photos of their collections were posted. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing these magnificent and very detailed works. Louis Claparols came up with Lady Gaga-inspired Barbies, while James Reyes’s photos were worthy of a fashion editorial.  Everyone was definitely inspired, like New Yorker’s Tina Lirag who thinks of Barbie as every designer’s perfect client: “At 50 years old, she still has the perfect body. She can wear anything and everything!”

A lot of the participants were transported back in time, as they immersed themselves in producing a collection for the iconic doll.  Patrice Ramos-Diaz even “remembers playing Barbie with my cousins every summer. We converted one of our lola’s small antique cabinets into a fully furbished Barbie house. Back then, I would hand sew little dresses and bags for my Barbie dolls.”

Like most, Puey Quinones had a fun and challenging experience dressing up these dolls.  “I thought it was going to be easy because it’s small lang, but I was wrong!  I realized it was kind of hard to sew small dresses and make patterns, too!  So what I did was mostly draping.” 

A “small” task for this group of 42 big-hearted designers. Eric Delos Santos was all worked up for this very privileged assignment. “It’s for a good cause,” he adds.

“Barbie ballet represents every girl’s idyllic dream. Through Ballet Barbie, we hope to create the perfect blend of these two and come up with something that every girl will want to keep and cherish for the rest of her life,” says Ballet Philippines president Margie Moran-Floirendo.

Ballet Philippines is grateful to American Express, Lifestyle Network, Manny O. Wines, Metro Society, The Peninsula Manila, Philips and Richwell. These dressed-up Barbie dolls will be officially unveiled at the Ballet Barbie Auction and Exhibit on March 17, 2010, Wednesday, 6 pm at the Rigodon Ballroom of The Peninsula Manila. For inquiries, please call Caroll Odvina at 0922-8135148. For information on the auction, please contact Menchu Manteco at 0918-9425118 or email menchugonzalezmantecon@yahoo.com.