One Minute with … WHIT (and Barbie!) Designer Whitney Pozgay

Barbie has had a long-standing history partnering with CFDA fashion designers, and for throwing splashy Fashion Week events. This season, the brand partnered with Tess Giberson, Rebecca Taylor, Cynthia Vincent, Whitney Pozgay of WHIT and Charlotte Ronson, and asked each of them to create a one-of-a-kind outfit for the iconic doll. We stopped by Barbie’s Meatpacking District pop-up event to chat with Pozgay about her unique creation and NYFW plans.

theFashionSpot: Did you grow up around Barbies?

Whitney Pozgay: My mom grew up with Barbies, so I think when she had me, she was really excited for me to play with them. I didn’t have any of the tech or fancy ones, though. The fanciest thing I had was a Barbie car, but I think it was great. As a young kid your parents are really controlling your wardrobe, so this was one of the first ways for me to express my creativity since I got to pick out what Barbie would be wearing. Also, the lack of “accessories” meant that I could exercise my imagination. It was all playing make-believe for me in an abstract way — Barbie played with my brother’s Ninja Turtles, and her house was my bunk bed. It’s such a fun way for kids to play!

tFS: How did you approach this project? Was it any different than when you design for “real women?”

WP: Our company is very feminine; we love color and print, and those are all things that suit Barbie as well, so with this project, we were able to lean into those aesthetics even more. With our customer, we always have to think about, “How is a woman going to wear this in the real world?” With this project, we were able to have a little bit more fun. So, for example, while the print is very true to our brand, in fact the floral is from our Spring 2015 collection, the silhouette is a bit more bodycon than we would otherwise have done.

Models pose wearing Whitney Pozgay design for Barbie at Barbie And CFDA Event; image: Getty

tFS: You just showed your Spring 2015 collection, what did you do right after?

WP: My husband and I packed everything up, made sure the interns were good to go and then we went out to dinner and drinks!

tFS: So, you’re not big on events during NYFW?

WP: Actually, this season was great since we showed so early, I’m able to see a lot of my friends’ shows. I went to see Timo Weiland, and I’m excited to see a few of the other CFDA Incubator program graduates. Always nice to see what people are up to!

tFS: Do you have any guilty pleasures when you’re procrastinating?

WP: I clean my room. Somehow I have no interest in cleaning except when I have a ton of things to do…suddenly all I can think about is Windexing the windows!

tFS: Any favorite snacks when you’re hard at work?

WP: I love NECCO Wafers!  My husband thinks they taste like chalk, but I love them.

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