Barbie is 65 years old this year – confusing perhaps, for anyone who thought that celebrations had peaked a year ago with the release of Greta Gerwig’s 2023 film . That, it turns out, was a mere prelude, a garland among many bestowed on Barbie, who was last year named among Forbes magazine’s list of “The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women”. As her longevity proves, Barbie is serious business, and manufacturer Mattel reported that the blockbuster film boosted sales by 9 per cent to $1.
9bn during the first quarter following its release. As to whether Barbie cuts it as a serious design icon worthy of a one-woman show at the Design Museum – I admit I was sceptical. Though popular, money-spinning exhibitions have never been more essential to our cash-strapped museums, there are limits, and all that pink plastic just seems so, well, basic.
I was wrong. This exhibition is pure joy, a nostalgic reminder of the magic these little dolls have brought to generations of children, but also a highly informative, neatly and passionately conveyed argument for why they matter now – to children, to adults, to anyone with an imagination and a fondness for nice little things. “Toys and games” said designer Charles Eames in 1961, “are the preludes to serious ideas”, an insight that risks being forgotten today as children are pressed towards “educational” activities, school holidays are considered too long , and boredom is a curse to be avoided not embraced.
The exhibition .
