Following heavy anticipation since being announced in mid-2019, Unique Vintage will be releasing its newest clothing collaboration, a line recreating looks from the classic sitcom “I Love Lucy,” in its Burbank store on Saturday, March 14.
This in-store release will provide early access to shoppers, and the online presence of the collection will be available to the public on Monday, March 16, at 5pm. The “I Love Lucy” line follows several other successful collaborations for Unique Vintage, including partnerships with Coca-Cola, Care Bears, Universal Monsters, and most recently, Barbie, which was in partnership with Mattel.
After the Barbie x Unique Vintage release, the brand joined forces with CBS, as well as the estate of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, to construct outfits that represent Lucy.
“[Lucy and Desi’s] daughter and granddaughter, Lucie [Arnaz] and Kate [Luckinbill] have been working very closely on this,” said Unique Vintage marketing coordinator Abbi Graddy. “They’ve been such great partners and we’ve been so excited to work with them. It’s been a lot of fun. We’re really excited about it.”
Whereas Unique Vintage’s design team usually has physical garments to work with, this project mainly utilized photos to use as references for the outfits. The goal was to stay true to their originality while making them contemporary for 2020.
“This collection was a little different because we were working mostly from pictures, but a lot of the looks are adapted more to be wearable today,” Graddy detailed.
12 pieces will be incorporated into the line, including recognizable outfits like the Lucy Ricardo dress, Lucy’s grape stomping outfit from the episode “Lucy’s Italian Movie,” and the “Lucy Does a TV commercial” dress.
Additionally, the clothes will come in a size range of x-small to 5X, which is the standard size range Unique Vintage incorporates to make sure their merchandise is accessible to a wide range of consumers.
“We always love to produce in the fullest size range that we can and make it as inclusive as possible,” Graddy said. “I know that’s kind of a gap in the vintage clothing industry for sure, a lot of things run smaller and are only available up to size large. We are not about that. We want everyone to feel their most bombshell, diva, vintage self.” 
“I Love Lucy,” which first aired nearly 70 years ago, in October of 1951, has stood the test of time and remains well-known due to Ball’s comedic talent and progressive representation of female empowerment. These characteristics appealed to the Unique Vintage brand and made for a fitting collaboration.
“Lucy was so ahead of her time, she was this iconic female trailblazer who really paved the way for female comedians today,” said Graddy. “We’re all about women’s empowerment, and it was a really good match for our brand, [along with] her fabulous, glamorous outfits.”
The goal is to not only provide beautiful new garments for fans of “I Love Lucy” and Unique Vintage, but to also send a powerful message regarding standing in one’s own power as Ball herself did.
“I just hope that everyone kind of takes away that spirit of empowerment, Lucy’s joy, celebration of female friendships, and her trailblazing attitude,” Graddy said. “In addition to wearing a super cute dress that makes you feel amazing, I hope that everyone also feels very powerful.”
To stay up to date on all things Unique Vintage, visit their store, located at 2013 W Magnolia Boulevard in Burbank, and follow them on Instagram here:
