Barbie – the icon

Although her real name is Barbara Millicent Roberts, for most people she is just Barbie. Calling her a doll would be belittling. Barbie is a global icon and in 56 years of life, she has managed to knock down every linguistic, cultural, social, and anthropological barrier. It is for this reason that the Museo delle Culture in Milan has chosen to dedicate an exhibition to her called Barbie. The Icon, curated by Massimiliano Capella, produced by 24 ORE Cultura – Gruppo 24 ORE, and promoted by the Comune di Milano-Cultura and by 24 ORE Cultura – Gruppo 24 ORE in collaboration with Mattel.

The exhibition will tell the story of the incredible life of a doll that has interpreted the aesthetic and cultural transformations of society for more than half a century; but – unlike the other myths of contemporaneity, worn out by the passing of time – this doll has had the privilege of being timeless and has crossed distant eras and lands, representing some 50 different nationalities, and bolstering her identity as a mirror for the global imagination.

The exhibition will comprise 5 sections and be preceded by an introductory room called Who is Barbie?, which will contain 7 iconic as well as representative pieces for each decade from 1959 to the present time, in addition to a timeline, fun facts, numbers and the global making of Barbie so that visitors will instantly know just who Barbie is.