It’s Fashion week in New York right now and guess who’s stealing the show this time? Barbie of all people! Yes, Barbie as in Barbie the doll! How? Well… the A-list marketing team of Mattel –maker of the Barbie doll had this brilliant idea of hosting a party at the Lincoln Center to showcase and celebrate the amazing wardrobe of their fashion icon. The party complete with DJ, drinks and real-life models trotting around dressed in Barbie outfits was a major hit amongst Fashionistas of all ages and is now the talk of the town. How genius is that?
When reading the news, not only did I applaud the Marketing tour-de-force, but I also got really curious about Barbie and, anxious to get to know her better. You see I was never into dolls while growing-up. I know it’s hard to believe, especially considering the look of this Blog but truly I’ve always been a Lego-type of girl. So this one time was my opportunity at finally connecting with a doll and truly Barbie is no short of amazing!
For one, she is a fantastically proportioned image of womanhood that makes more money than Action man; no kidding. Three Barbie dolls are sold every second worldwide, isn’t that something? The story of her life is quite enlightening too. She was invented in the late 1950’s by Ruth Handler, co-founder of Mattel as a toy that would empower little girls and make them dream about what they wanted to be when they grew up, thus the doll’s perfect femininity and the 80+ careers that she’s embraced so far from paleontologist to medic sergeant in the US Army!
But Barbie is first and foremost a design and fashion icon. She had her very own Malibu mansion decorated in 2009 by Jonathan Adler himself. She has a signature color, the “Barbie Pink” Pantone color and last but not least, she has sported over the years some 75 different fashion outfits created by real-life Couture designers including the late Alexander McQueen, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci and Versace to name just a few. Now that’s a true Fashionista!
Speaking of which, here are two outfits that caught my eye this week, fresh from the Marc Jacobs Fall/Winter 2012 runway show or was it from some Fairytale Wonderland?
Rose Poulette 
Nice!
I was lego player as Well!!!
And later Barbie dreamer……
I have always been fascinated by Barbie,
She is not the archetype of the blond girl (she would have been married with Big Jim by Mattel) but the symbol of the women émancipation (think about….. Ken!).
JC
I actually think Barbie would have hung out with Ken, but he is Gay… So, she would have had incredible sex with G.I. Joe 😉