At some point, we have all come across the bleak sight of a box of Barbies with severed arms, legs and heads: childhood memories packed away in a drawer, but also plastic with no apparent use left. And while Barbies can still be found at flea markets and on resale platforms, one design studio has come up with a way to give them a new life.
The Barbie x Gomi Childhood Memories Collection, created by Brighton-based design studio Gomi, repurposes “pieces of Barbie, Ken and their accessories” to make Bluetooth speakers, power banks, wireless chargers and tracker tags. The result is a series of objects with marbled surfaces streaked with pink, blue, lilac and orange, turning the plastic from old toys into something completely different.