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Beyoncé’s longtime makeup artist Sir John — who has also worked with a long list of celebrities, like Kat Graham, Doja Cat, Ashley Graham, and Gabrielle Union, to name a few — has a new client to add to his repertoire: none other than Barbie.
Sir John has teamed up with your favorite childhood doll for a very special collaboration. The Mattel brand has recreated some of the artist’s best archived makeup moments from over the years on actual Barbie dolls. From a Lion King-inspired look as an ode to his Disney collab, to a spread in Glamour with Soo Joo Park, these dolls have a whole new look.
So why Barbie?
“Barbie’s always been on a mission to inspire young boys and girls,” Sir John tells InStyle. “She’s a strong woman who has had so many different careers. She runs parallel, because also all my clients are really, really strong women, and they move the needle in culture and society.”
The special dolls were created by Mattel with the help of Sir John to make sure every look was exactly right — with not a hair or lash out of place. The dolls were then shot in a studio to create very glamorous photographs to show off their makeovers.
While the dolls will not be for sale, they were created in celebration of everything Sir John stands for: inclusion and representation in beauty.
“Right now, we’re in an era where representation matters,” says Sir John. “I grew up in an era where we couldn’t always see ourselves in toys. So what I love about the place that we’re in now, is that all kids are able to dream on the same level. That imagination that we’re trying to induce isn’t deflated, and it’s all adjacent to as much creativity as they can muster up or hold within their little brains.”
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This collection and these archived looks also stand for Sir John's belief that makeup works to highlight something that comes from within.
“Makeup is a vehicle to show who you are,” the makeup artist says. “Beauty is a feeling, it comes from the inside. And you know, makeup is, it’s an expression of who we are. That emotional connection that you have with cosmetics because they do change your sense of self it helps to stand for something, which is more than just some kind of topical aesthetic journey, it’s a soul search. It’s leaning into yourself."
The collection will be published on @BarbieStyle Instagram page starting Dec. 16.
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