Student design challenge sparks creative re-imagining of Dick Bruna’s classic character.
82 design and fashion students in five countries across three continents have each created an outfit for a 3D Miffy doll in a global challenge to mark this year’s 65th anniversary of Dick Bruna’s classic bunny.
Ten winners of the Miffy Fashion Design Challenge have now been chosen, two each from the participating countries: Italy, UK, Netherlands, Hong Kong and Mexico.
The winning creations will form the ‘Miffy Fashion Design Collection’, a signature range of exclusive soft dolls 33cm in height.
The limited edition collection is now being manufactured by Dutch soft toy company International Bon Ton Toys, to be sold via high-end retailers worldwide and online from autumn/winter 2020.
The 82 students who entered the challenge responded to the brief – which included requirements for simplification, sustainability and material safety – with a variety of imaginative and topical concepts and, in some cases, off-the-wall approaches.
Some students used Miffy’s evolution over 65 years as their starting point, others chose Dick Bruna’s artistic influences and his use of colour or they deconstructed the character’s form. One even made an outfit for Miffy in space as an environmental statement to protect Mother Earth.
“The aim of this challenge was to take Miffy – a global icon – and explore how today’s generation of students would re-interpret Dick Bruna’s simple design and character,” commented Marja Kerkhof, md of Mercis, the global rights owner for Miffy. “It is amazing to see the young students’ modern viewpoints and creative designs superimposed on Miffy’s 65-year old classic form; the juxtaposition is startling and makes for a highly original and collectable range of merchandise.”
Artist Ronald van der Kemp, who was on the judging panel, added: “It is always impressive to see how the next generation can take something so familiar – in this case Miffy – and give it a fresh look.
“It is testament to the durability of Dick Bruna’s original design that these new creations make Miffy look as if she was created yesterday, rather than in 1955.”
All 82 entries to the Miffy Fashion Design Challenge will be shown in an international touring exhibition, kicking off at the Centraal Museum in Utrecht from this month.
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