You’ve got to be at the top of your game to be a one-name model: There’s Iman, Naomi, Gisele — Barbie.
The 11.5-inch plastic doll is still on top as a high-fashion muse as she approaches her 50th birthday, and will make her New York Fashion Week catwalk debut on Saturday in 50 outfits by the country’s top designers.
Barbie’s life-size stand-ins will strut in a gold gown by Ralph Lauren, a hot-pink wrap dress by Diane von Furstenberg and an outrageous green party dress by Betsey Johnson.
The fact that Barbie is just shy of her 50th birthday — officially marked on March 9 — doesn’t seem to matter in a fashion industry that worships youth. (Being made of plastic, she can even avoid the indignities of Botox.)
There’s been an epic display of unity around Barbie as a muse, says Richard Dickson, general manager of the Barbie brand at Mattel Inc.
Barbie is 50. What’s the next chapter?
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