When was barbie released

The series of ads encouraged girls to believe in themselves and their dreams. Barbie has worked with more fashion designers than any other brand in the world. Her first fashion partnership was in , when Oscar de la Renta created a line of designer clothes for Barbie. The glamorous jewel tone and metallic outfits brought runway fun to young fashion lovers, sparking their imaginations and creativity.

This was the start of many fashion collaborations to come. Andy Warhol made his mark by creating images of American icons. Barbie was added to the list when Warhol painted her in Barbie has been running for president in every election year since The first President Barbie came with an American-themed dress for an inaugural ball and a red suit for her duties in the Oval Office. In , Barbie released an all-female ticket with a president and vice president doll set to inspire girls to believe they can be anything—including leader of the free world.

Totally Hair Barbie is the best-selling Barbie doll to date. In , Barbie became a social media influencer with the launch of the barbiestyle Instagram account. The account was created to celebrate pop culture moments through the eyes of an icon and quickly became a leading fashion influencer channel. The Happy Holidays Barbie was dressed up in a green and silver gown decorated with holly. The Holiday Princess Cinderella Barbie was based on the character from Disney's cartoon movie.

Barbie released commemorative Prince William and Kate Middleton dolls in Barbie's Fashionista collection included a black woman in a wheelchair among six different body types, nine skin tones, six eye colors, 11 hair colors, and 10 hairstyles.

New dolls in the Fashionista line include a doll with vitiligo, another with a prosthetic limb, and one without hair. World globe An icon of the world globe, indicating different international options. Get the Insider App. Click here to learn more. A leading-edge research firm focused on digital transformation.

Talia Lakritz. There are a seemingly infinite number of combinations of hair texture, hair cut and color, body type and skin tone. Mattel decided to sell the dolls in sets to avoid this problem, but then it had to figure out which dolls to sell together to optimize diversity and marketability.

Her playmates erupt in laughter. Girls in other sessions are similarly careful about labels. As always, Barbie acts as a Rorschach test for the girls who play with her—and the adults who evaluate her. Still, the girls learning the ways of political correctness do not as wholeheartedly embrace the new dolls as their moms. Mazzocco reflects on her experience with her daughters two Barbie fans, one not when she talks about the diversity imperative at the brand.

Many of the mothers in the four focus groups that Mattel allows me to observe agree with the direction Mattel is taking. And they are, after all, the ones who buy the dolls. The majority of the women in the focus groups I watched were middle class and African American or Hispanic. Most say the new Barbie types would make them more likely to buy Barbie. My daughter definitely has curves, and I would want to give her a doll like that. And despite the girls who thought the curvy doll looked fat, most of the kids in the groups I observe choose their favorite doll or the doll that looks most like them based on hair, not body shape.

A curvy, blue-haired doll that many girls dub Katy Perry is by far the most popular. But when asked which doll is Barbie, the girls invariably point to a blonde. The idea that all these different dolls—none of whom look alike—can all be Barbie is confusing to moms too. Companies work decades to create the sort of brand recognition that Barbie has. When people around the world close their eyes and think of Barbie, they see a specific body. If that body changes, Barbie could lose that status. Worse still, some customers may not like the new version.