Barbie®:The Exhibition The Design Museum

Barbie®: The Exhibition. The Design Museum 05 July 2024. Tickets are available to pre-book now. I strongly recommend booking in advance as it’s very popular

Photography by Jo Underhill for the Design Museum

 I’m going to say two things before I review Barbie: The Exhibition at The Design Museum

1. This is not interiors related. It’s about inspiration and idea formation, and 
2. I bloody loved it! 

There’s often chatter about what’s relevant as an Interior stylist, writer and/or journalist when it comes to press events. Should we visit beauty/fashion/garden events if we don’t specialise in those areas, and I (possibly biasedly) say YES! Exhibitions and galleries are about life and, as interiors creatives we’re all about lifestyle. So yes, I say go to the events that will light your fire. Barbie will definitely light your fire. 

What’s it all about?

Barbie®: The Exhibition is taking a look at Barbie in the moment and looking at her nostagic 65 year journey through the lens of design – well, we are at The Design Museum after all. It’s looking at her from the perspective of an adult. 

Barbie has a clear brand DNA which Kim Culmone, Senior Vice Presedent of Design for Mattel shared at the press preview. 

“We’re under guardianship to Barbie. It’s a complex under taking. Barbie is so much more than a doll. She’s a brand. “ 

Launched in 1968, Barbie’s swift rise came somewhat as a surprise to Mattel. Their first doll hit the ground running and now Mattel design a whopping 300-400 new items for Barbie every year. When you hear this you begin to understand her influence. With the average toy’s success lasting around 3-5 years and this year Barbie reaching the ripe age of 65 you can see why the design evolution for today’s trends and audience is so important. 

Danielle Thom, Curator of the exhibition puts it like this 

“Mattel do an extraordinarily good job at hitting the sweet spot. They resonate with their market when they represent ethical and aspirational aspects of life. She’s still recognisable, Still inspiring. Barbie is telling the History of culture – told through a toy” 

And that’s why she is so loved. Even to me, who never owned a Barbie as a child (don’t worry – I’ve rectified that now!) She’s appealed to so many people at different times in their lives as she has evolved with them. 

How does Mattel know what to design for Barbie? 

“Creating new ranges for Barbie is all about being timely and timeless. The toy manufacturing process takes a year. You can’t do fast fashion. You need to think outside the box. And that has been the key.”  Kim shares

Who designs the Barbie collections 

It’s a huge team as you can imagine. Designers from age 25 work with more experienced creators. This means their outlook is always diverse.

The designers gain awareness from their global insight team who look at what’s happening with families, how people play, what’s the current fashion trends and so much more.

What can I expect from the exhibition? 

As you walk into the exhibition the very first Barbie you see is the VERY FIRST BARBIE. The original doll. Think of the opening scene in the Barbie film with the black and white swimsuit and very high heels, eyes looking right. Got goosebumps yet? You will when you see her.

As you continue through the rooms you’ll see Barbie’s changing appearance in relation to evolving cultural shifts around diversity and representation. There are 180 dolls on display all in brightly lit cabinets. Did you know Barbie has 35 skin tones at the time of writing? 

Considering how small the doll is they’ve done a fantastic job of setting them up so you can see them clearly – even when there are a lot of people around the showcases. 

You can really see why people started avidly collecting Barbie in the 1980’s. They’re beautiful. Mesmerising.

BTS

I really enjoyed seeing the behind-the-scenes looks at how Mattel designed the dolls at the beginning right through to today. From technical aspects to the innovations. I particularly enjoyed watching the painting of the faces and the hairdressing of the dolls videos. If we knew how harshly they brush the new manes as they’re created there would be a lot less tangles out there! (Weird Barbie anyone?) 

Seeing the 1969 Talking Christie doll with her clear body to show her workings (so that the sales people could demonstrate her) was fascinating. 

What about the Dream House

Yes, this is where I was a bit “I don’t know where to look first!” There’s lots of dream houses from the very first cardboard one (without a kitchen) right up to a Kartell designer chair collection (currently on my most wanted list!) 

There are cars, speedboats, space ships – did I mention that the Samantha Cristoforetti look-alike doll is on display with photos of them both weightless in space? 

Cristoforetti went to Space with her Barbie in April 2022 on a 170-day mission to the space station which also saw Cristoforetti make history as the first European woman to complete a spacewalk.

There’s also a Barbie theatre, and at the end – without a spoiler, let’s just say – a very sparkly room. 

A few highlights not to be missed

• The Magazine covers on display are brilliant. Look out for Time Magazine.
• The Kens – all of them – especially the modern ones 
• The Adwoa Aboah doll in the last room 
• The curvy Barbies
• The Down syndrome, wheelchair and amputee Barbies
• The faces with the steps for painting- in all the colours
• The wigs 
• The hips – I love the dolls with hips 

I was expecting to enjoy Barbie®: The Exhibition, but it totally exceeded my expectations. The day after visiting I was propping and bought myself my first Barbie and Ken (vintage – obvs!) I feel a new collection is about to happen and you will too. 

Barbie® : The Exhibition The Design Museum

Barbie®: The Exhibition is open at the Design Museum until February 2025. Tickets are available to pre-book now. As you would expect the exhibition is very popular so I would highly recommend booking in advance to avoid disappointment.

If you’d like to read about my relationship and revelations from the Barbie Exhibition check out this post. Barbie and Me : Barbie, Me and why it’s okay to sneak into Press Previews that aren’t about Interiors