Transformation of the world’s most famous doll

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Happy birthday, Barbie’s full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. Conquering children’s rooms and quickly becoming a star, on March 9, 1959, the doll was presented at a toy fair in New York.

Born thanks to a trip to Switzerland

Elliot and Ruth Handler and their colleague Harold Matson started a garage company in the USA in 1945: But Barbie still had a long way to go before it became a reality. In Switzerland, Ruth Handler bought a so-called “Bild-Lilli” that was less geared towards children as an inspiration. Because “Bild-Lilli” is based on a frivolous comic book series written by artist Reinhard Beuthien for the newspaper “Bild”. Legend has it that Ruth wanted to create a dress-up doll that could be made into better clothes out of paper, long since her daughter was young.

A lot has happened since the first Barbie doll came out. Barbie’s success was enormous, now huge sums are being offered for collectors’ copies. But Barbie’s times weren’t always fresh and happy. Clothes, skin color or figure – the popular toy is often criticized.

When the first of the dolls appeared on television in 1959, Barbie wore a black and white striped swimsuit. It cost three US dollars and soon you can buy it with wedding dresses and accessories as well. Interesting: The baby had both blond and brown hair. Demand was high and approximately 350,000 Barbies were sold in the first year of production.

“Colored Francie” appeared as the first dark-skinned African Barbie in 1967. Soon after, inventor Ruth Handler († 85) made headlines for the doll having a very thin waist and a large chest. Some parents have complained to the manufacturer Mattel. Some changes were made in response to the criticisms that followed. For example, from 1971 on, Barbie’s eyes were no longer looking sideways, but forward.

Just one year after its 20th anniversary, «Black Barbie» was launched. This was a mix of previous models and therefore often criticized by African countries. The manufacturers promised to release a better version.

Ten years later, Mattel has made that promise a reality. One group specialized in making African dolls, which eventually became a huge success. In addition, Barbie has appeared in various animated series since 1987 and appeared as “Doctor Barbie” in 1988. Impressive: Today the plastic doll already has more than 150 different jobs.

In 1997, the waist was widened by a few millimeters, as the criticism of the figure did not end. Aqua’s song “Barbie Girl” was also released this year, giving the toy a special significance. The first Barbie movie, Barbie in: The Nutcracker, was released in 2001.

For her 50th birthday, a separate fashion show was held for the child’s favorite at New York Fashion Week. Designers like Calvin Klein and Vera Wang were there. In addition, “Totally Tattoos Barbie” was launched, which allows children and their toys to be decorated with tattoos.

In 2015, the “Hello Barbie” doll was released. This can record conversations and finally communicate with kids. There was a lot of news about this in the media, and almost all of them were about accusations and warnings about third party tapping.

That said, animated movies starring Barbie are doing particularly well. To date, 36 films have been released, which increasingly show the image of a modern, successful and independent woman.

The first live-action movie is scheduled for Barbie’s 60th birthday. The movie is scheduled to be released in 2023. Actress Margot Robbie was cast to play the coveted Barbie role, and Ryan Gosling was cast as his wife, Ken.

Source : Blick