I’m A Barbie Girl: Celebrating Black Barbie and Vogue’s All-Black Issue Anniversary
To celebrate 50 years of Barbie and the anniversary of Italian Vogue’s iconic July 2008 “all-black” issue, Franca Sozzani, editor-in-chief of Italian Vogue, has decided to re-release the “all-black” issue with a special supplement showcasing only black Barbie dolls. Our old friend Barbie is experiencing some new changes this year with Mattel's new line of African-American Barbie dolls, "So In Style" which has just been released.
Barbie represents the true definition of a Superwoman. Among her various professions, Barbie has been a doctor, ballerina, flight attendant, and even a presidential candidate. In other words, Barbie can do, and has done it all.
In order to celebrate 50 years of Barbie and the anniversary of Italian Vogue’s iconic July 2008 “all-black” issue, Franca Sozzani, editor-in-chief of Italian Vogue, has decided to re-release the “all-black” issue with a special supplement showcasing only black Barbie dolls. When asked about her decision Sozzani explained, “Barbie has been an icon for whole generations which is why I really wanted to give a strong sign in step with the times, and dedicate the anniversary issue to Black Barbie.”
July 2009 Italian Vogue, Barbie Supplement
The dolls included in the supplement are a part of Mattel’s newly-launched “So in Style” (S.I.S.) collection. The dolls in the line were designed by longtime Mattel designer Stacey McBride-Irby. Mc-Bride-Irby made a push for this new line of dolls after working on the Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) Barbie in 2007.
“I wanted to design more dolls for black women and have them represented in the Barbie world,” said McBride-Irby. “I wanted to offer authentic skin tones with fuller noses and lips to moms and girls at a more affordable option. I wanted them to have a doll that looks like them.”
Other than apparent physical modifications such as curlier hair, wider noses, and fuller lips, the “So in Style” collection is different than other black Barbie dolls because they include intelligent background stories for each doll. The dolls come in pairs of big and little sisters in order to encourage mentoring relationships. There are three big sister/ little sister doll combinations in the collection and each come with a flair for fashion and both fun and scholarly interests. For example, Kara and her little sister, Kianna, are interested in art while Trichelle and her sister, Janessa, like to play the violin.
The line reflects the diversity of skin color among black women, which lends hand to Mattel’s efforts to create more ethnically correct dolls. Mattel’s interest in creating more diverse Barbie dolls goes back several decades. In 1967, Mattel released an African American version of their popular Francie doll. The doll was unpopular and did not sell well because it was produced using the existing molds of its Caucasian counterpart. The “Colored Francie” doll was released in two variations. The first variation had rust colored eyes and shoulder-length brown hair with a gentle flip while the second variation has dark brown eyes and dark brown hair with a slight wave.
However, the controversial “Colored Francie” doll is not considered the first black Barbie. That title goes to the Christie doll, which was released in 1968. Christie had more realistic ethnic features and came with light brown skin and dark brown hair in a wavy bubble cut. The first official Black Barbie was finally released in 1980 along with the first official Hispanic Barbie.
First “Colored Francie”, Second “Colored Francie”, “Christie” doll
In 1997, Mattel was publicly chastised because of the release of Oreo Fun Barbie. The doll was marketed has a playmate with whom girls could share “America’s favorite cookie”. Per tradition, Mattel created both a white and a black version of the doll. Critics of Oreo Fun Barbie argued that in the African-American community, Oreo is a derogatory term meaning that a person is, “black on the outside and white on the inside.” The unsold stock of the doll was soon recalled by the company.
Though Mattel has faced some backlash during its attempts to create a more diverse line of Barbie dolls it was the only toy company that produced ethnic-specific molds for their African-American dolls in the 1960s. So, thank you, Mattel for trying to ensure that even black girls can be Barbie girls because everyone knows that, “life in plastic, [is] fantastic.”
