london's design museum celebrates 65 years of barbie with vibrant pink exhibition

the design museum in london hosts major barbie exhibition

The Design Museum in London unveils a major exhibition celebrating 65 years of Barbie. Held in partnership with Mattel, the vibrant pink showcase features over 180 remarkable dolls, including rare, unique, and innovative examples from the Barbie universe. Visitors will encounter significant dolls, from the first Barbie to ‘move’ to the first Barbie to ‘talk,’ along with many others that have left a mark on culture over the decades. Running until February 2025, the exhibition delves into Barbie’s evolving appearance in response to cultural shifts around diversity and representation. It also provides exclusive, behind-the-scenes insights into Mattel’s design processes and highlights the Barbie doll as a technically and materially innovative creation.

all images by Jo Underhill, courtesy of the Design Museum

Iconic Dolls and Milestones: Highlights from Barbie Exhibition

The exhibition at the Design Museum (find more here) showcases over 250 dolls and items from Barbie’s world, displayed together in a colorful landscape designed by Sam Jacob Studio (find more here). The exhibits date from 1959 to the present day, and collectively chart 65 years of design evolution of the world’s most famous doll. Key exhibits include the ‘surfer girl’ Sunset Malibu Barbie from 1971 which was one of the most popular of the decade, and the ground-breaking Day to Night Barbie from 1985 that was designed to reflect the workplace revolution for women in the 1980s, and which saw Barbie’s work-attire pink suit transform into a chic evening gown. On view is also 1992’s Totally Hair Barbie, the best-selling Barbie of all time which has sold over 10 million across the globe.

There are examples of the first Black, Hispanic and Asian dolls to bear the Barbie name on display, as well as dolls that reflect today’s diverse, multicultural society. These include the first Barbie with Down syndrome, the first to use a wheelchair, and the first to be designed with a ‘curvy’ body shape. Unique pieces include a prototype of the first Talking Barbie from 1968, on loan from Mattel’s archives, showcasing the doll’s voice mechanism. The exhibition also highlights Barbie’s friends like Midge, Christie, and Teresa, her sister Skipper, and a dedicated section for Ken, tracing his evolution since 1961.

the vibrant pink showcase features over 180 remarkable dolls