If Barbie were real, she would definitely grace the covers of Vogue today and become the object of desire for mainstream fashion houses.
He became a real role model not only for children but also for adults, who dreamed of the same dream house and branded pink limousine without leaving its plastic packaging on store stands, transforming his name into a worldwide brand.
That’s why for the first time an inanimate character has appeared at the wax museum, Kylie Jenner was inspired by a doll for one of her Halloween nights, and Greta Gerwig, author of Little Women and Lady Bird, is currently making a movie about her. Starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. We are sure that if “Barbie” could cry, she would have burst into tears from such recognition, although initially she was skeptical about the idea of creating a plastic toy in the form of her “parents” – Mattel. an adult woman (baby dolls and paper dolls, cut out of cardboard, enjoyed great respect). Yes, the existence of Barbie in the late 50s was doubtful, but the company, despite the initial distrust of customers, decided to try and hit the jackpot – 300 thousand dolls were sold in the first year.
Mattel’s new toy quickly became one of the most popular in America, and the company gradually expanded production: “Barbie” had a boyfriend, Ken, and girlfriends, six siblings, and dozens of outfits that sold separately for three dollars. The doll herself also “did not stand still” and mastered the professions, so that, according to Mattel, every girl can see herself in herself and understand what she wants to do when she grows up: “singer”, “ballerina is like that” ”and “nurse”, “nanny”, “teacher”, “cosmonaut”, “presidential candidate”. By the mid-1960s (the first doll was introduced to the world in 1959), its success went far beyond children’s stores: a number of cartoons were published, magazines and book series were published, and many related products were produced, from stationery to stationery. Clothes.
At one point, Barbie became one of the best-selling toys in the world – according to some sources, three dolls are sold every second in the world, and Mattel also released a collection of collectibles not designed for the game.
The dolls were dressed by Yves Saint Laurent, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Pierre Cardin, Nina Ricci, Paco Raban and other designers, and the proceeds from the sales went to charities.
Unfortunately, by the early 2000s, the toy had ceased to enjoy the same popularity: Bratz hit the market, sales of Barbie began to fall, and Mattel decided to sue the main competitors in the market. The firm claimed that Bratz founder Carter Bryant invented the doll while they were working for them and actually stole it, and the court agreed. True, after paying the fine, dolls with expressive eyes still continue to be sold.
On this occasion, “Barbie” turned into a dress and became a real princess in the image and likeness of Cinderella – fluffy dresses, fur capes and feather decorations are complemented by smaller copies of Christian Louboutin shoes and Tiffany & Co jewelry. In general, “Barbie” has never lagged behind the trends, so in the 70s, for example, under the influence of the popular TV series “The Brady Family”, “went” to the California coast and acquired a tan and snow-white smile (model “Malibu”, the presence of the brand During the ’90s, she wore minis, cropped tops, denim jackets and trouser suits, imitating Britney Spears, and now dresses at Ralph Lauren, Dior, Escada. , Carolina Herrera, Oscar de la Renta, Givenchy and Burberry.
Mattel also did not forget about social issues: for example, Becky appeared in a wheelchair in the series of models as a sign of support for children with disabilities, and then Ella, who lost her hair in the fight against oncology. “Barbie” was even affected by widespread digitization: in 2015, a model appeared equipped with a camera, microphone, speaker and Wi-Fi module.
However, some gave the baby all the laurels, while others criticized it. The popularity of the toy was associated with the spread of anorexia and bulimia, and even promoted something like the “Barbie syndrome” – an obsessive desire to conform to the ideals of beauty preached on social networks. And in the central hospital of Helsinki, they also calculated that the proportions of the baby are unnatural for a person: a real woman with the same parameters will lack from 17 to 22% of her weight for the normal functioning of the reproductive system. Manufacturers had to make concessions, so in 1997 Mattel reduced the bust to the toy and widened the waist, and in 2016 they decided to take a revolutionary step, driven by the body positive trend – they released Barbie in magnificent forms, as well as low and high growth. This year, the collection was refreshed with an inclusive range of models of all races and body sizes, and a transgender model – actress Laverne Cox (“Orange is the New Black”) became its prototype.
Barbie and her friends keep their finger on the pulse: the collections feature star-inspired models, she fills her wardrobe with images of eminent designers, she lives a rich doll life (she even parted ways with Ken in 2004, but two years later, they still return to each other) and almost 11 He communicates with fans around the world on a YouTube blog with one million subscribers.
He seems to have grown over the years, so the video admits that he’s sometimes upset for no reason and that this is normal, discusses the problem of bullying and shyness at school, and also urges him to ignore stereotypes he knows firsthand. .
But today’s “Barbie” isn’t just about her platinum blonde, toy shoes, and pink collection.
Now Mattel is preaching that just like its future owner, her babies can be literally anyone: a chef, a stage star, a yoga coach, a doctor, a racer, a pilot, a developer, a robotics engineer, or just a princess. And today it is not limited to size XXS. By the way, Greta Gerwig’s new film of the same name needs to be shown from this side. The movie Barbie is one of next year’s most anticipated premieres about growing up from the feminist writer of Little Women and Lady Bird, about women’s place in society and their pretty serious stories. Greta Gerwig co-wrote her new project with Noah Baumbach in charge of Marriage Story, and in her own world, Barbie doesn’t sing Barbie Girl from Aqua, but was fired from Barbieland because she didn’t meet beauty standards and learned to live in it. The real world, where the road to perfection is not through perfect curls, but through inner harmony. Will this Barbie be the best doll of the 21st century? We’ll see.
Source: People Talk
