10 Unmissable Highlights from #BarbieTheExhibition

The doll that started it all - the very first Barbie, released to the public on March 9th, 1959. Her appearance was inspired by several sources, including paper dolls, fashion photography, and the German cartoon character Lilli. Barbie was an adult-bodied doll, designed with fashion play in mind. Her original wardrobe was meticulously designed, reflecting the influence of French haute couture and American ready-to-wear fashion.

Though many toy buyers had been sceptical when Barbie was released, believing that parents would refuse to buy their children a doll with a mature female figure, she was an unprecedented success with sales of over 300,000 in 1959 alone.

With its sunset colour scheme and dreamlike graphics, the 1971 Country Camper signalled the influence of 'hippy' counterculture on Barbie. By 1971, the moral panic that had greeted counterculture in the 1960s was more or less over, and the visual signifiers of the movement - folk clothing, psychedelic graphics and nature symbols - had been absorbed into the mainstream.

Combining the vibrant plastic finish of Eero Aarnio's 1968 'Pastil' chair, and the deep curve of Michel Ducaroy's 1973 'Togo' sofa, the 'Dream Furniture' range engaged with European Modernism. Moving on from the geometric, mid-century simplicity of the first Barbie Dreamhouse, but preceding the ruffled opulence of the 1980s, this furniture line complemented the colourful A-Frame Barbie Dreamhouse released in 1978.

Opulent, romantic and above all, pink - the Magical Mansion was the largest and most elaborate Barbie house when it was released in 1991. It epitomises the Barbie aesthetic of the 1980s and 90s, which mirrored the increasingly conservative cultural mainstream with traditionalist, hyper-feminine details. Floral wallpaper and neoclassical columns offer up an affluent suburban fantasy; a backdrop for Barbie as the epitome of aspirational glamour.

If you're a Millennial, chances are you're familiar with the 'Superstar' face. The introduction of Superstar Barbie in 1977 marked the second major redesign after the doll's introduction in 1959. She ushered in a new era of opulence, ready for the socially conservative, wealth-oriented 1980s. The Superstar face became the 'default' face for white-skinned Barbie dolls in the 1980s and 1990s, during which period the brand embraced dramatic, hyperfeminine looks and - of course - the colour pink.

In 1975 the Free Moving line of dolls, including Barbie and her friends Cara, P.J., Curtis and Ken, was released. By pushing a tab mechanism attached to her back, Free Moving Cara could strike her tennis racket or swing her golf club. This line combined structural innovations of dolls being made to move, with the growing culture of active lifestyles in the 1970s.

Barbie ‘Brooklyn’ Roberts made her big-screen debut in the 2021 animated film Barbie: Big City, Big Dreams. As the Black lead, alongside the white Barbie ‘Malibu’ Roberts, it marked the moment the character of Barbie has been embodied in two distinct doll designs. Since then, Brooklyn has appeared across all social media content, released a music video, and been designed as a number of playline dolls.

‘Growin’ Pretty’ Barbie epitomised the tactility of hair play in the 1970s. A built-in mechanism allowed the doll’s hair to extend when pulled, making her ponytail retractable. 'Growing Pretty' Barbie arrived with ringlet curls, pink bows, and looped plaits, so children could creatively mix and match Barbie’s hairstyles.

Released in 1992, Earring Magic Ken was the best-selling Ken doll ever. Intended as a companion to Earring Magic Barbie, his appearance - bleached hair, mesh shirt and lilac 'leather' waistcoat - was seen by some consumers as implicitly queer-coded. Gay men, in particular, flocked to buy an Earring Magic Ken as a souvenir. At the height of the AIDS crisis, and in a society still beset by homophobia, it was a moment of queer joy and representation at an otherwise dark time.

Barbie has undertaken over 260 careers since she was introduced 65 years ago, from the esoteric to the everyday. She was first imagined as a teacher in 1965, wearing a period-appropriate red cardigan and pencil skirt. By the 1990s, Teacher Barbie sported a somewhat improbable pinafore dress covered in letters, numbers, apples and stationery. The shift towards this kind of simple symbolism in the doll's clothing allowed it to communicate its intended meaning directly to the child (i.e. the consumer), without ambiguity.