As well as limited-edition merchandise - T-shirts, badges and stickers - inspired by the forever-young fashion muse to mark her 58th birthday (which he will personally launch at Selfridges, London this Friday in The Fashion East Store in the Designer Studios between six and eight pm), Bovan has gone one step further and created a series of exclusive Barbie dolls, dressed in his spring/summer 2017 collection, which will also be on sale at the store.
"Barbie for me, as a child growing up, allowed me to explore my creativity from a very young age," Bovan told us about his own connection with the American doll. "I was always changing her hair colour and style, always mixing up different outfits and making my own. It gave me a way to channel my own very early creativity, so Barbie to me represents a sort of freedom - you can explore your own identity through her."
"Barbie is my dream Designer Studio customer," Ruth Hickman, designer studio buyer at Selfridges, said of the edit. "I'm thrilled that we can celebrate her birthday by exclusively showcasing Matty's merchandise in the Fashion East Store - the perfect home for this genius collaboration."
"Barbie allows both young boys and girls to unlock their imagination of what woman can be - what they do for a career, what they wear, how they act - with Barbie's new dolls it allows children to find the Barbie that best represents who they are and how the feel," Bovan elaborated. "There is endless possibilities with Barbie and she carries a kind of timeless quality which is why she still has a huge appeal to both adults and children today."
Far from being limited to this collaboration, Bovan's interest in the female form - specifically challenging pre-conceived identities and ideas of beauty - is something that is palpable at his shows.
"Strong female identity is something I grew up surrounded by and something that I found very inspirational - it extends naturally within my own work and practice," he added. "I design for myself, but also the female version of me - it's all part of my whole identity. I am interested in pushing what beauty and identity is in my work and what is considered beautiful, questioning how the feminine is portrayed within fashion. I am really trying to showcase how these are relevant in 2017 within my own fashion collections and collaborations."
"Barbie for me, as a child growing up, allowed me to explore my creativity from a very young age," Bovan told us about his own connection with the American doll. "I was always changing her hair colour and style, always mixing up different outfits and making my own. It gave me a way to channel my own very early creativity, so Barbie to me represents a sort of freedom - you can explore your own identity through her."
"Barbie is my dream Designer Studio customer," Ruth Hickman, designer studio buyer at Selfridges, said of the edit. "I'm thrilled that we can celebrate her birthday by exclusively showcasing Matty's merchandise in the Fashion East Store - the perfect home for this genius collaboration."
Few adults would be numb to the nostalgia Barbie evokes. As a self-proclaimed "canvas for creativity", the imagination and creativity it encourages is now attracting a whole new generation now with its new collections, which feature tall, curvy and petite silhouettes.
Far from being limited to this collaboration, Bovan's interest in the female form - specifically challenging pre-conceived identities and ideas of beauty - is something that is palpable at his shows.
"Strong female identity is something I grew up surrounded by and something that I found very inspirational - it extends naturally within my own work and practice," he added. "I design for myself, but also the female version of me - it's all part of my whole identity. I am interested in pushing what beauty and identity is in my work and what is considered beautiful, questioning how the feminine is portrayed within fashion. I am really trying to showcase how these are relevant in 2017 within my own fashion collections and collaborations."
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