Customers Bought $200,000 of Karl Lagerfeld Barbies Yesterday Morning

In case you were wondering how deep fashion people’s capacity for purchasing branded novelties is, yesterday morning’s quick sell-through of a thousand Karl Lagerfeld-designed and -branded Barbies at Net-a-Porter should tell you all you need to know, thanks to a little digging by Tyler McCall at Fashionista. The Barbies went for $200 a pop, and they were gone before I got to work in the morning.

McCall confirmed with Net-a-Porter that they originally had 999 of the dolls, which were an NAP exclusive, in stock, and the math from there is self-evident. Not only does Lagerfeld have a singular sway over fashion industry dollars, but special edition Barbies have a fervent collector’s market all their own, whether they’re fashion-related or not. Put the two together and you get a lot of sales, very quickly.

The collaboration also comes at a particularly opportune moment; novelty and irreverence in fashion are seriously trendy, and consumers are more willing than every to spend significant money on things that are funny or cool rather than traditionally luxurious. Would you spend $200 on a Barbie from your favorite brand?


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Mya Wilkes

If im being very honest, i actually would. Just look at her, shes hot! Plus she’ll be a nice accessory for my dressing table. I have to hand it to Karl Lagerfeld, he definitely knows his consumers.

kemilia

They are already selling for a small fortune on ebay. I agree, Karl knows his audience.

Kali

I´ve been fan of Barbie since I was a child… would never ever buy any of those. Just because there´s his name on the box for me it´s no reason to buy.

Varsha

They had more selling on Karl and Barbie’s website, I think.

elisa

Also i , i really want this Barbie it’s a investment!!! 😉
http://www.theladycracy.it

FashionableLena

I would but not at that price. I think that she looks pretty bad ass.

jetsetheart

Oh man, I’m actually upset I missed them! I’d buy it in a heartbeat (at retail, not over) and put it on display right next to my Chanel handbag collection. #superfan

klynneann

She’s actually pretty cool looking. Wish I’d known, I totally would have tried to score one. Not willing to pay eBay prices though. ..

Jen

God knows they’ll be worth a lot in the future. I highly doubt they will ever lose value. My burning question is this: Is the handbag real leather and made by Chanel? HA. Probably not.

Kagem

These are terrible

Hierophilic

Barf. Hell naw. How obnoxious and tacky.

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