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LASplash.com: Style and Fashion "Bigger than Barbie" - title, bound to start conversation By Veronica Viljoen
“Bigger than Barbie” is the name to a documentary that surely sparks interest. Why the reference to America’s Doll icon, Barbie and does the title do the documentary justice? On Friday, July 27, 2007 at 7pm, Art Aids Art presented a screening of “Bigger than Barbie”, featuring the 450 female artists of Monkeybiz Bead Project, one of the greatest success stories in post-Apartheid South Africa. The event was hosted by San Gabriel Bead Company , located at 325 E Live Oak in Arcadia, east of Downtown Los Angeles to an audience of about 40 guests.
The documentary was informative, memorable and stirred within me a renewed interest to inquire about the title, “Bigger than Barbie”. I could not resist asking Director/Producer, Tina Davis, why the documentary was named such. According to Davis, “when I was in Cape Town for the first time in late 2002, I heard Barbara Jackson, one of the founders of Monkeybiz, jokingly say that they wanted to become “Bigger than Barbie”, and I instantly knew this had to be the title for the documentary. The dolls have such a free expression in that they are colorful, fun, unique and so far removed from anything mass produced and formatted”. Can Monkeybiz become “Bigger than Barbie” since Barbie has been around since 1959 whereas Monkeybiz started in 2000?
Shot primarily in Cape Town and surrounding impoverished townships, “Bigger than Barbie” follows the experiences of women working to overcome extreme poverty and HIV/AIDS through contemporary bead art. Their unique reinterpretation of traditional beading has created a sensation at exhibits around the world, selling out in hours at renowned venues such as Sotheby’s of London; the success in sales of the Monkeybiz dolls at DKNY ; the May 10 – 20, 2007 screening of “Bigger than Barbie” at the Flying Broom International Women’s Film Festival in Ankara, Turkey plus the inaugural June 8, 2006 screening of “Bigger than Barbie” at the ABC Carpet & Home Store on Broadway in New York. To further promote the message of the documentary, "Bigger than Barbie" was screened at the San Francisco International Arts Festival on May 21, 2007. Notable celebrities in the documentary included appearances from Monkeybiz enthusiasts Archbishop Desmond Tutu, designer Donna Karan, singer Annie Lennox, and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Nelson Mandela. Norwegian Producer/Director, Tina Davis spent 4 years making “Bigger than Barbie” after being captivated by a beaded doll she received as a gift and went to Cape Town in 2002 to inquire about the women behind Monkeybiz.
In the movie industry, the Oscars are the ultimate! Making it to the Oscars is something we all dream about regardless to which side of the camera lens you are on. South Africans have made it to Tinseltown, won an Oscar or two and have dressed A-List Celebrities for the Red Carpet. I wonder if any of the voting members of The Academy have been made aware of the incredible design talent of Monkeybiz. If they did, who knows how big the Monkeybiz name will become around the globe?
In South Africa, Lucilla Booyzen, Founder/Director, Sanlam SA Fashion Week (SA-South Africa) and World Fashion Week, International Committee Member, is someone who has put South African fashion designers on the international stage. Can she do the same for Monkeybiz? London Fashion Week; MAGIC Las Vegas, Nevada; Bread and Butter, Barcelona, Spain; IGEDO Dusseldorf, Germany ; Acapulco, Mexico and Shanghai, China are some of the places that Booyzen assisted South Africa’s designers to show over the years. In my opinion, collaboration between Monkeybiz and Sanlam SA Fashion Week would be a great fit given the “Arts and Culture Fusion Project” that Sanlam SA Fashion Week hosts as a merger between the fashion designer and the crafter.
In the aura of fashion affiliation, Debra Stevenson, culture expert/tracker and founder of Trend Agitator, a global trend analysis blog, is someone who initially introduced me to the incredible talent of Monkeybiz a few years back. Little did I know that now the grassroots design dynamics from the townships of Cape Town have reached far beyond the soars of South Africa? Always pushing her creative envelope, Stevenson has collaborated with the Craft and Folk Art Museum of Los Angeles under her brand consultancy, The Skyline Studios to curate an exhibition, “From Craft to Catwalk” January 20 - May 18, 2008 which will trace the influence of craft and culture in cutting edge contemporary fashion. The mixed media show will be a forum for innovative designers inspired by folk art and indigenous craft techniques.
As exhibit Curator, Stevenson is thrilled to merge her 20 years experience in the fashion industry with her lifelong passion for tribal arts, trend tracking and global travel. Since Monkeybiz is amongst the many brands already confirmed by Stevenson to exhibit in the show, who knows where this collaboration may go as both companies look to expand their brand since the “From Craft to Catwalk” exhibit will feature participating designers from Sub-Saharan Africa (South Africa), North Africa (Morocco), South America (Brazil, Argentina), North America (Native American, Mexican), Pan-Asia (India, China) and Eastern Europe (Russia).
So how big have the Monkeybiz dolls become over the years? According to Tina Davis, “Bigger than Barbie” will have its worldwide DVD release on October 1st, 2007 after which it will be available from www.biggerthanbarbie.com; the “Bigger than Barbie” MySpace site www.myspace.com/bigger_than_barbie; the Monkeybiz's internet shop www.monkeybiz.co.za as well as the shops around the world that sell Monkeybiz products. Looks like the dolls are on their way to gain more notoriety around the globe? Their fame has surpassed the message that Co-founder, Barbara Jackson had in mind when she collaborated on the documentary. Jackson adds, “that we wanted to get across through “Bigger than Barbie” how women really can overcome all odds and how from absolutely no resources and very little hope, women can blossom and grow when love, support and skills are presented into their lives.”
Los Angeles Designer, Peter Cohen, who just returned from a two week vacation in Cape Town, shared with me his account of life in South Africa. Working on this article has allowed me to share my path with incredible women who continue to make a difference in South Africa’s fashion industry by providing employment options despite the country’s despair and who have taken the incredible, free-spirited design talent from my homeland to the international stage. I look forward to the continued success to South Africa’s fashion industry and to Monkeybiz Bead Project in their zeal to truly make their business “Bigger than Barbie”. It's a Wrap, V.
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Published Aug 11, 2007 © Copyright 2003-2004 by LA Splash.com |
