Barbie as Iconic Musician

It has been in the news recently that Mattel has released Barbie as Mariah Carey and as Stevie Nicks. Both of these dolls continue a long tradition of recreating Barbie as iconic stars who will appeal to kids, to the parents who buy dolls for their kids, and to adult collectors.

For what it's worth, both dolls are currently sold out on Amazon and already listed (as of November 17) on eBay for $150. The collector's market and upsale of collectibles is alive and well.

This series of dolls is intended to represent role models as well as fashion icons. I have to say, this line of dolls has never appealed to me over much. There is nothing wrong with them, but I have always gotten Barbies that were not "Mattel-style-doll-recreated-to-resemble(ish)-someone-famous."

When I was looking through my collection in storage last week I came across two other iconic Barbie recreations from 25 years ago. Barbie Loves Frank Sinatra and Barbie Loves Elvis. In both of these Box Sets the female dolls are "Barbie" and not a Barbie body remade as another famous figure. It's a slight distinction, but at the end of the day, you have to draw the line on which dolls you collect somewhere. For me that was the line I drew. ;)

Thinking about the evolution of the dolls and the marketing of Barbie's over time, it is fascinating that today fans can buy female musical icons whereas 25 years ago they were buying female fan-girls of male musical icons. Is this a step forward in equality? Maybe....

Or, is it merely a discussion about nostalgia and who is buying dolls today versus who was buying dolls twenty years ago.

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