Barneys Partners With Disney Co.

 Barneys and Walt Disney Co. have joined together for a holiday's campaign titled "Electric Holiday". On November 13, the campaign will be revealed at Barneys' Madison Avenue flagship store. The campaign in loosely based on Disney's famous electrical parades and the lights during the holiday season in NYC and Paris fashion shows. The unveiling will feature an electric light show, a short moving art video which will be displayed on the windows of the store, and the revealing of Oscar winning composer Michael Giacchino's original score. The art film will present Minnie Mouse's dream to attend Paris fashion week. Disney's favorite characters will be transformed to super models wearing real high fashion pieces by real life famous designers. Minnie Mouse will be wearing Lanvin, Mickey Mouse will be dressed in Balenciaga, Goofy dressed in Balmain, Daisy Duck wearing Dolce & Gabbana, Snow White dressed in Nina Ricci, Cruella de Vil wearing Rick Owens, and Princess Tiana in Proenza Schouler.

Photo by Barneys

There has been so controversy regarding the transformation of Disney's classic characters. Some say the new look is weird, even for cartoons, with the freaky tall and slim bodies and large heads. The reasoning for the change of body types was found here, “The standard Minnie Mouse will not look so good in a Lanvin dress. There was a real moment of silence, because these characters don’t change. I said, ‘If we’re going to make this work, we have to have a 5-foot-11 Minnie,’ and they agreed. When you see Goofy, Minnie and Mickey, they are runway models.”

I found this interesting because it seems to me that Freedman is saying only tall slim women would look good in a high fashion dress. I understand a short Minnie Mouse might do the dress justice, but what about making her around 5'7 and healthy body type?

Dennis Freedman, Barneys' creative director, told WWD, "The animator and I sat next to each other and went over every detail of the clothes - how they're made, what material, how they would move - to get them as accurate as we possibly could,". During a meeting in Glendale, Ca, a model was brought in "to walk the hallways of Disney, and they studied how she walked. I said, ‘You can’t make the film without understanding every detail of how she walks, what her facial expression is, and how she stares ahead".

Freedman was also quoted saying, "The world of the Paris fashion shows, of fashion, of people in fashion, of the rituals, all of the idiosyncrasies. The important thing to me was always that it had to be authentic. It really had to hit the nail on the head in every detail".

Besides the unveiling on November 14, you can buy memorabilia. 25% of sales from Electric Holiday products  will go to a charity disclosed at a later date. An limited collection of holiday items including several collectible Vinylmation figures designed by Paul Smith and Diane von Furstenberg, and Mickey Mouse ears from Rag & Bone and L’Wren Scott will be available though stores and online. There will also be small gifts like ornaments, edible sweets and children’s toys for the season.

Paul Smith's Collectable Mickey Mouse Vinylmation Figure. Photo by Courtesy Photos.

Logo. Photo by Disney and Barneys

What do you think of the revamped characters?