From: The Telegraph & Coutorture
The extravagant pink curtains opened to reveal a model dressed exactly as the very first Barbie, in a black and white zebra-print, sequined swimsuit Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES
The extraordinary collection, surreal in the extreme, was paraded by 51 different models and was attended, in addition to press and buyers, by several hundred New York mothers and their young daughters.
Bob Mackie, the costume specialist who has created many of Cher’s more fantastic outfits, virtually stole the show with his extravagant gold beaded and white ostrich feather creation.
Fifty-one designers, including many household names such as Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Tommy Hilfiger, Diane Von Furstenberg and the London-based red carpet specialists, Marchesa, made specially-designed outfits, to celebrate Barbie’s half-century anniversary.
The show opened with a visual biography of the Barbie story, complete with pink dream home and pink Corvette convertible, and flashed onto a heart monitor beeping into action to signal the doll was coming to life.
The extravagant pink curtains then opened to reveal a model dressed exactly as the very first Barbie, in a black and white zebra-print, sequined swimsuit and her blonde hair combed into an oversized ponytail.
Bob Mackie, the costume specialist who has created many of Cher’s more fantastic outfits, virtually stole the show with his extravagant gold beaded and white ostrich feather creation. But Patricia Field, the costume designer behind ‘Sex & The City’, ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ and the new chick-flick, “Confessions of a Shopaholic”, was a close runner-up with her one-legged, black and silver jumpsuit.
The extraordinary collection, surreal in the extreme, was paraded by 51 different models and was attended, in addition to press and buyers, by several hundred New York mothers and their young daughters who greeted each model’s appearance with screams of delight.
Even “Ken” made an appearance, in a black velvet jacket and jeans.
It is estimated that more than 1 billion Barbie dolls have been sold worldwide in more than 150 countries since the doll was first introduced.
Mattel, which manufactures Barbie, claim three Barbies are sold every second.
In her 50 years on the planet, Barbie has enjoyed 100 different careers and had more than 40 pets including cats, dogs, horses, a panda, a lion cub and a zebra.
The Barbie 50th anniversary promotion will now be celebrated at London Fashion Week, which opens next Friday, (Feb 20th), where the young designers, Roksanda Ilincic and Danielle Scutt, have designed capsule wardrobes for the doll, which will be featured in their catwalk shows.
Bougies 