HAPPY BIRTHDAY BARBIE
“I’m a Barbie girl in a Barbie world. Life in plastic it’s fantastic…”
Does it sound familiar? Raise your hand who has never played with a Barbie doll as a child ! We think that all of us, as girls, spent many hours in company of Barbie .
She is turning 60 this year and still doesn't have a single wrinkle. Blonde or brunette, slender or curvy, black or white, princess or president, Barbie is from ever the favourite for young girls, even if she has caused controversy over the years.
Who did invent Barbie doll and why?
Ruth Handler the creator of Barbie was an employee of a famous American company called Mattel. One day she was struck by the fact that her daughter Barbara preferred to play with images of actresses cut from magazines, rather than with the classic dolls. She had an intuition: she began to imagine a doll with the body of an adult woman with whom the girls could have played "being big". On March the 9th, 1959 Barbie was born, named in honor of Ruth's daughter (Barbara).
Why was Barbie born blonde?
Barbie was born from character of an old German cartoon and the protagonist was just blonde, so Mattel took a cue in all respects from that character to create the doll.
Who is Ken?
In the Barbie mythos, Ken met Barbie on the set of a TV commercial in 1961, although Mattel has never specified the precise nature of their relationship. Similar to his female counterpart, Ken has a fashionable line of clothing and accessories. He was invented by Elliot Handler (Ruth’s husband).
Barbie Is Now in a Wheelchair and Has a Prosthetic Leg
Barbie's new looks could help fight the stigma around physical disabilities. In June 2019, Barbie will debut a doll with a prosthetic leg and another that comes with a wheelchair. Mattel collaborated with a 13-year-old disability activist who was born without a left forearm. "As a brand, we can elevate the conversation around physical disabilities by including them into our fashion doll line to further showcase a multi-dimensional view of beauty and fashion," Mattel said in a statement.