The Museum of Arts and Design’s ‘Barbie: A Cultural Icon’ Exhibits Brilliant Women

It’s been over a year since Barbie (2023) debuted. It’s been sixty-five since the Barbie doll debuted, clad in her now-iconic black-and-white-striped swimsuit, with her ponytail, hoops, and cat-eyed sunglasses. And it’s been almost that long since the world started obsessing over her.

Since Ruth Handler came up with the idea, alongside her husband, Elliot Handler, and Harold Matson, Barbie has been about the little girls who would dress and play with her. Ruth saw that her daughter, Barbara, was mostly limited to “caregiver” toys — baby dolls — while she also observed Barbara dress up paper dolls for hours. It was that observation that inspired Barbie, named after Barbara Handler.  

“My whole philosophy of Barbie was that through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be,” Ruth wrote in a 1994 memoir. “Barbie always represented the fact that a woman had choices.”

And she does — over the years, Barbie has had over 250 careers, gone to space, become president, modeled luxury clothing, and made life-long friends. 

Celebrating her 65th birthday and her impact on fashion and culture, the Museum of Arts and Design in Manhattan is showcasing those choices and more in the “Barbie: A Cultural Icon” exhibit, through March 2025.  

The museum has a huge banner of Barbie overlooking Columbus Circle and the southern-most part of Central Park, with its walls painted pink for the occasion. The exhibit is dressed up to be Pantone 219C (alongside other bright colors, of course), featuring pictures throughout, and, faintly in the background, iconic Barbie commercials, immersing you in a different world.

The exhibit gives a snapshot of each Barbie era. It starts with the original idea, how she was conceived of and created for the first time, and her 22 original outfit designs. Designer Charlotte Johnson presented Mattel with even more haute couture options but only the most stylish and practical outfits were chosen. Just as every Barbie outfit sold now comes with shoes and accessories, each of these outfits had their own, complete with purses, jewelry (and necklaces with teeny-tiny clasps), shoes, and just about anything Barbie might need in her day-to-day life.

One woman surveying the 22 tiny masterpieces pointed to one dress and said, “My mother used to wear something like that. I can picture her in it.” 

Her friend pointed to another outfit and said, “I think I had that one!”

Following Original Barbie, the exhibit presents each decade as a timeline, showcasing the most notable trends and fashions from the time period. Each period also presented a sliver of some of Barbie’s jobs — including a version of Doctor Barbie in every decade. 

Because the exhibit spanned over 65 years, there were many Barbie outfits to explore. Though the signs on the walls were sometimes lacking in depth, including very simplified and sanitized explanations of the Civil Rights Movement and the Feminist Movement, it celebrated monumental moments for Barbie, alongside women. Beyond her career ambitions and achievements, Mattel contributed — eventually — to diversifying dolls through Barbie. 

Christie, Barbie’s first Black friend, was introduced in 1968, when, “most Black and white Americans still learned, worked, and lived separately.” The first Black Mattel doll named Barbie was only introduced in 1980. The last decade has seen an even wider range of Barbies in the Fashionista line, dolls with more diverse body shapes and types.

The Dream Gap Project, which is Mattel’s mission to close the gap on gender bias and stereotypes, was also highlighted by the museum. As one little girl in the video says, it’s about “seeing brilliant women being brilliant.”

But the stand-out of the exhibit’s take on Barbie was the creation of an experience. Not only can you stand and stare at Barbie’s beautiful outfits and designs, but when you step into the exhibit, it’s almost as if you’re stepping into a little part of Greta Gerwig’s Barbieland. 

There are velvet pink benches everywhere. Alongside some of the outfit designs are human-sized dresses that inspired the Barbie-sized versions. When the first Dreamhouse was introduced, complete with its cardboard walls, floors, and furniture, the timeline also presented a life-sized replica of the Dreamhouse to sit in. Each era included at least one era-appropriate, brightly-colored television set playing a commercial from the time, like the Totally Hair Barbie commercial. The 70s era had a disco ball shining over the room and the second floor of the exhibit had a life-sized bright-pink Barbie convertible Ultravette, complete with license plates. Of course, there were a few Barbie “box” photo opportunities as well. 

The best part of the exhibit was experiencing Barbie alongside the other museum-goers. One little girl was pulling her dad around. 

Women of all ages were gasping at outfits they were excited to see. “No way,” was enthusiastically whispered throughout the exhibit, alongside small, delighted gasps. The joy and laughter that the nostalgia of Barbie brought was like a little window back to the summer of 2023, the summer of pink, girlhood, and “Hi Barbie” to strangers on the street.

“Seeing brilliant women being brilliant,” does not stop being impactful after a girl grows out of playing with her Barbies and this exhibit is a little reminder of that.

“Barbie: A Cultural Icon” will be on display at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City through March 16, 2025.