Bob Mackie Barbie Dolls

Once, I saw some Barbie Dolls behind a locked glass cabinet in a shopping mall and wondered why they were so special to be displayed instead of laying in the usual plastic boxes stacked on the shelves.  There was an exhibition of Barbie Dolls by Bob Mackie on display, and that opened my eyes to haute couture for Barbie, other than the saccherine sweet dresses of the usualy Barbie Dolls.

Between 1990 to 2012, the proliferic Bob Mackie created 34 looks for Barbie, mostly outrageous designs that most people would not have the courage to wear and walk out of their front doors.

My favourites from the collection are:

The doll above is the Bob Mackie^® Countess Dracula Barbie^® Doll, but it looks more like a can-can dancer to me.  Created in 2011, the minus point of this doll for me are the purple heels.  She might have been more impressive in red or black stilettos.


If I must own one of the dolls in this collection, it would have to be the Fantasy Goddess of the Americas^™ Barbie^® Doll created in 2000.  A native American girl probably never dressed like that, but this doll is so Bob Mackie and the headdress is very impressive.


What a butterfly is the Bob Mackie Le Papillon^™ Barbie^® Doll created in 1999.  With only 2 colours, Bob Mackie had created, what is to me, a visually stunning piece of work.  "Less is more" must refer to this.

[Pictures of the dolls are from the Barbie Collector website.]