Fifty years on, DAVID ADAMS takes a look at where Barbie came from…
It seems like she’s been everywhere lately – the subject of photo spreads in the magazines, TV news and current affairs show segments and countless newspaper column inches. Hard to believe that all this fuss is about a…erm…doll.
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NEW EDITION: The new “Bathing Suit” Barbie standing outside the “real life” Malibu Dream House. PHOTO: Business Wire |
Yes, Barbie has turned 50 this year and given all the hoopla, we thought we’d take a look at where she came from.
But first, the figures. More than a billion fashions have been produced for Barbie and her friends since she first appeared back in 1959 and Barbie has had more than 108 career changes, everything from astronaut to zoologist to Formula One driver to presidential candidate. It’s estimated that in the US, 90 per cent of girls aged three to 10 own at least one Barbie.
As to her origins? Barbie was the creation of Ruth Handler whose husband Elliot Handler had founded toy company Mattel (he’s the ‘el’) with Harold Matson (the ‘Matt’).
Having noticed her daughter Barbara’s preference for playing with cut-out paper figures, and treating them as adults rather than as ‘baby’ dolls, she began to look at developing a grown-up doll. During a trip to Europe, she came across a German doll which she was then able to use as a prototype before, after getting some help from engineer Jack Ryan, she eventually launched Barbie at the 1959 New York Toy Fair as the ‘Barbie Teenage Fashion Model’.
As well as Barbie (her full name is Barbie Millicent Roberts), the Barbie milieu has expanded to include a range of other characters including paramour Ken, best friend Midge and younger sister Skipper (one of four younger sisters). Then there’s the accessories which, over the years, have included a swimming pool, campervan, and, of course, the Barbie Malibu Dream House (Mattel has actually unveiled a real life version of the Dream House as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations).
An icon of pop culture, Barbie – the subject of films, songs, and countless comedy routines – has ever courted controversy: her figure continues to come under constant scrutiny and she has long been criticised for what she stands for – interpreted by some as everything from a “symbol of Western decadence” to an unrealistic (and unhelpful) depiction of women.
Yet 50 years since the first doll sold for a mere $US3, the Barbie phenomena continues to pull in the dollars with billions spent every year as the doll first launched 50 years ago continues to attract an ever expanding legion of fans, both children and adults alike..
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