NEW YORK – Some 200 Barbie fans braved a hard rain on April 3 evening as they made their way to the Rizzoli book store in Manhattan for the release of a coffee-table book celebrating the doll’s fashion history.
Inside, some took off their raincoats to reveal pink skirts, scarves, sweaters and blazers. Before a panel discussion began, they helped themselves to pink velvet cupcakes and wine.
Published by Rizzoli and authored by Australian actress Margot Robbie and her American stylist, Andrew Mukamal, Barbie: The World Tour explores the Mattel doll as a style icon.
Its pages are filled with portraits of Robbie, the star of American director Greta Gerwig’s 2023 blockbuster film, wearing outfits including a Givenchy dress inspired by Gay Parisienne Barbie, and a Miu Miu ensemble recalling Evening Splendor Barbie.
French creative director Fabien Baron art-directed the project, and the fashion spreads were snapped by British photographer Craig McDean.
The book also includes handwritten tributes on Barbie’s cultural influence from celebrated designers like Donatella Versace and Manolo Blahnik.
Mr Mukamal said the book was conceived as a way to show off looks that never made it to red carpets, because of the months-long actors’ strike that cut into Robbie’s global press tour for Barbie.
After reminiscing about cutting the hair of Barbie dolls with his sister as a boy, Mr Baron said that he had included archival snippets of the doll’s history in the book as a way to give it a “collage vibe”.
“Rather than just having pictures of Margot,” he said, “I wanted it to feel like a diary, something that she could have penned herself. That’s why there’s handwriting everywhere.”
During the Q&A session, one fan asked why the book did not include outfits from the Dolls Of The World Barbie collection.
“There’s a lot of room for misinterpretation if, say, Margot is wearing a kimono or something,” Mr Mukamal explained.
“Barbie is transformative enough, but there’s people out there who might interpret that a little bit incorrectly.”
In the crowd was Sally Singer, a former Vogue editor and the newly minted president of Art + Commerce at William Morris Endeavor’s fashion division.
“Some of the most eccentric people I know are Barbie fans, and many people on the fringes of fashion have always used Barbie as an incubator for their creativity,” Ms Singer said.
“I’ve always seen her as a kind of companion to self-creative, singular and avant-garde people.”
Two friends in the crowd, Carol Torre and Anahy Antara, reflected on their fandom.
“I don’t really know much about the book,” said Ms Torre, an accountant. “I’m just here because I love Barbie.”
“I’ve been hitting thrift shops to try to pull off Barbie’s style ever since the film came out,” added Ms Antara, a university administrator.
“The truth is, lots of us still want to be Barbie. Sure, I’m all for bra-burning and feminism, but I still want to be like her.”
Ms Michelle Mackliff, a fashion consultant, had brought along a Barbie doll from her own collection that was still in its box: a 1995 Donna Karan New York limited edition Bloomingdale’s Barbie.
As she waited in line to have her book signed, other fans gathered to ogle the chicly outfitted doll, which held a miniature Big Brown Bag from the Manhattan department store.
“I’ve been thinking lots recently about why I love Barbie so much,” Ms Mackliff said. “I guess it’s because I first started dreaming about what was possible with my life because of her. She was my first feminist symbol.”
“I still remember getting my first Barbie as a girl for Christmas when I was growing up in Ecuador,” she added. “And you know what? I still have that doll to this day.” NYTIMES
