Our adoration for the ‘90s knows no bounds, and thanks to a sweet new collaboration between British-American designer Mimi Wade and Polly Pocket — yup, our most prized plastic childhood possession — we’re basking in nostalgia once more.
To celebrate the relaunch of the shell and heart compacts (shout out to those who still have the originals in their parent’s loft), Wade has created a pastel-hued and lace-ruffled collection with the toy brand exclusively for Selfridges available starting August 17. Sure, on paper it sounds a little childish for 2018, but thanks to Wade’s penchant for making babydoll dresses totally wearable IRL, the capsule is full of pieces we genuinely can't wait to buy.
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“I was fascinated by Polly Pocket as a child — being able to carry around a pastel-colored dream world in your pocket still remains a charming concept,” Wade said in a release. “I was always designing my dream home heavily inspired by the different compacts she lived in; a fairy in a toadstool house, a cowgirl in her own Texan stables, a mermaid living in a shell, a waitress in her own diner…”
For the collaboration campaign, model Moffy is photographed looking like a ‘90s dream, wearing the collection’s hero pieces: pistachio, lilac, and blush silk satin dresses in babydoll and slip styles — decorated with giant velvet bow sashes — and lace-trimmed T-shirts, all adorned with printed Polly Pocket graphics.
The collection also includes jewelry that pays homage to the chunky plastic necklaces we dressed up in as kids. Working with luxury costume jeweler Vicki Sarge, the pieces feature Swarovski crystals, freshwater pearls, and rhinestone beads, as well as original ‘90s Polly Pocket figurines on clip-on earrings. Our 10-year-old selves would be squealing with excitement.
“The definitive message for me is that great things come in small packages,” Wade continues. “It’s about your character and attributes, rather than your physical stature. For this collaboration, I wanted to highlight the idea of Polly being this tiny adventurer, and when I came up with the graphics, I was thinking about films that play with the element of perspective like Honey I Shrunk the Kids, The Taste of Tea, The Borrowers, and Land of the Giants.”
Wade, a Central Saint Martins graduate who made her London Fashion Week debut in February 2016, is no stranger to evoking nostalgia through her pieces; her collections are often inspired by her actress grandmother Pamela Curran’s old Hollywood glamour. For now, though, she’s turning firmly to the decade of her youth. And, wearing a baby pink Polly Pocket slip dress and retro clip-on earrings, we’ll happily join her there.
Polly Pocket x Mimi Wade launches exclusively in Selfridges Oxford Street and at selfridges.com on Friday 17th August.
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