We are getting closer to the premiere of Barbiethe upcoming Greta Gerwig film starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. Without a doubt, it is one of the most anticipated films of the summer (and of the year in general) that will show us a somewhat existentialist portrait of the most famous doll in the world.
For this reason, and to warm up the engines, here we tell you some interesting facts about the history of the Barbie doll from their origin, who was behind them, the inspirations of their figure, their life story and how they have marked reality and history.
The origin of Barbie
Ruth Handler was an American businesswoman best known for invent the most famous doll in the world: Barbie. Ruth and Barbie’s relationship is like a movie (and perhaps more interesting than Barbie’s story itself…) at a time when everything was arranged for things to happen and mark history.
To begin with, Ruth was married to a man named Elliot Handler, who in the 1950s co-founded a company that would later be called Mattel. However, despite the fact that the pieces were arranged, Ruth found a space in the doll’s market that was quite evident, but nobody knew how to see.
The thing is, Ruth saw how her daughter, named Barabra, played with paper dolls that were more youthful in shape than baby. So she realized that there was no doll for girls that looked like a teenager or young adult. And so the idea of a different doll was born.
Later, during a trip in Europe, Ruth found a German doll that didn’t look like a baby. He took the shape, the silhouette, the size and created Barbie. But how did the idea evolve until it reached the doll we played with during our childhood?
Bild Lilli, the inspiration for Barbie
As we told you, Ruth found a German doll called Bild Lilli that hit the nail on the head to create the shape that Mattel’s Barbie would take in the future. And who created this doll, where did it come from and what was its purpose in life?
Now. Although we link Barbie with childhood, they must know that there is nothing further from this than Bild Lilli. Lilli was a character in a comic strip that was published in a German tabloid known as the Bild-Zeitung. Created by caricaturist Reinhard Beuthien, Lilli was a woman who by the standards of the time (the 50s) was open, rebellious and flirtatious.
Ya saben, sexually open, sarcastic and with a rather acid humor who always wore heels, flashy dresses or dared to walk in her underwear. In other words, it was a character designed for adults, specifically for the female audience. That is how they contacted Max Weissbrodt, who in turn was part of a toy company, to design Lilli as a doll.
Who is Barbie (Barbara Millicent Roberts)?
As we told you, Ruth created Barbie when she saw her daughter play with adult-shaped paper dolls, not babies. So it’s no wonder Ruth decided to name her daughter after her. this doll that would revolutionize the toy market and many other industries such as fashion and beauty.
Ruth’s daughter was named Barbara Handler. And Barbie’s real name is Barbara Millicent Roberts, “born” March 9, 1959 in Willowsa fictional city located in the US state of Wisconsin.
The first time we saw Barbie she was wearing heels, white glasses, and a black and white striped full bathing suit (not bikini). One of the Barbies was blonde and the other was brunette, both with a ponytail high. She was about 30 centimeters tall, her waist was small, her bust moderate as well as her hips. Her legs were long and her feet were high.
Who is Ken (Kenneth Sean Carson)?
Barbie has had one of the longest and most successful love relationships in human history. Barbie came into the world in 1959, but it was not until 1961 that she found love in her beloved Kenneth Sean Carson, better known as Ken (whose name also comes from Ruth Handler’s son).
His image has always been friendly, and he became the boy next door (instead of Barbie, which is the place dream women almost always occupy). The origin of Ken is peculiar, because It emerged as a Barbie accessory beyond a character with its own voice.
In fact, in the toy market there was a dilemma with the figure of Ken, which was not as masculine as expected. It was thus that in 1964 the action figure known as the GI Joe (Action Man outside the United States).
Since 1961 he has had a relationship with Barbie, which ended in 2004. They were separated for several years until in 2011 they resumed their romance. And now they continue together.
Barbie’s first profession
Barbie can do it all. And in the more than 60 years of her history, has made approximately 200 professions ranging from being a doctor, teacher, rockstar, UNICEF ambassador, to gymnast, editor, flight attendant and more. Two of her most celebrated professions are astronaut in 1965 and president in 2000.
However, Barbie’s first job was as a model. I mean, it’s not that it’s a surprise that being a doll interested in fashion and style, her first choice was to become a teen model.
The official Pentagon uniform for Barbie
But one of the most interesting aspects of the multiple professions that he has carried out in history is that also served in the Armed Forces since 1989 and the Air Force of the United States of America in 1990. By 1992, he also joined the Armada.
The thing is that Mattel wanted Barbie’s uniforms to be identical to those used by the military, sailors and aviators of the time. Hence He approached the Pentagon to allow them to make uniforms that included official seals and other details. The Pentagon agreed, and that’s how Barbie’s uniforms became official.
The first celebrity who had her Barbie
With the premiere of the Barbie movie, of course the official dolls that correspond to the characters in the film were launched. Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, the main characters, have their official Barbie and Ken whose wardrobe corresponds to some outfits that we have seen in advances.
We say this to show that Barbie, being the most famous doll in the world, has been present in all trends since 1959, celebrating the most famous figures in different industries such as actresses, scientists or models. x
And it is in this last category where the first person who had a Barbie figure enters. Is about Twiggy, the supermodel of the 60s who set the standard for the well-known it girls. Twiggy, according to some fashion specialists, was the first model to show an adolescent figure in the industry, which focused on women and girls.
