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March 9, 2009 marks the 50th anniversary of the introduction of Barbara Millicent Roberts, otherwise known as Barbie. Since that plastic fantastic date in 1959 the world of fashion and beauty has never been the same.

The impossible became possible. Mattel created an illusion of perfection with the unattainable proportions of Barbie. Her large bustline, small waistline, long thin legs, tiny tush and micro shoe size have become the gold standard of the modern female aesthetic. Studies have been conducted that that have concluded that the grownup doll’s physique is actually impossible to achieve.

Some have even suggested that if she was an actual human being she would fall over because of her small feet supporting a huge rack. But that still has not stopped millions of girls and woman from aspiring to emulate the look.

Even some feminists, while acknowledging the dangerous stereotyping that the doll encourages, have been known to gush over her big eyes, silky hair and improbable bod. She continues to be the bread and butter of the cosmetic surgery profession.

Barbie was the brainchild of American business woman Ruth Handler, who while vacationing in Switzerland came across a European doll called ‘Bild Lilli’. At the time most dolls had baby or girlish characteristics.

Lilli was a woman with shapely legs who wore heavy makeup. She was supposedly based on a prostitute that appeared in a postwar German cartoon. Handler returned to California and Barbie was soon born. It is hard to believe that to date over one billion Barbie Dolls have been sold worldwide. That is more than three times the population of the United States.

A key component of the Barbie phenomenon, and a brilliant marketing ploy to get girls to lust for the latest Barbie wardrobe or incarnation, was that the just under 30 centimetres tall icon was a dedicated follower of fashion and lifestyle trends.

The very first Barbie dolls wore a black and white swimsuit, high-heeled sandals. But over the years fiction became reality. So much so that Barbie instead of being influenced by style began to actually dictate it. A new line of Barbie clothing for adults will soon be introduced. And of course there is the somewhat creepy phenomenon of the Human Barbie Doll in which women have attempted transform themselves into the synthetic deity with some having dozens of plastic surgery procedures.

Barbie hit the runway during New York Fashion Week and the Bryant Tents became a giant doll house.

Fifty prominent designers, including Donna Karan, Versace, Kimora Lee Simmons, Calvin Klein, Bob Mackey¸ Michael Kors, Badgley Mischka, Vera Wang, Tory Burch, Anna Sui, Yigal Azrouel, Charlotte Ronson, Monique Lhuillier and Kenneth Cole designed birthday outfits for the celebration.

The intention was to demonstrate how the world’s most popular doll has been influenced by fashion over the years but it soon became clear how much Barbie has also transformed fashion as well.

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