As the tee-shirts used to say ‘I hate Barbie, that bitch has everything!’ The first Barbie dolls exemplified the Californian dream which has been sold to little girls for decades since. She was controversial from her debut at the New York Toy Fair in 1959. There was much industry consternation. The consensus: she’ll never catch on. How wrong were the doubters.

Now, Barbie: The Exhibition at Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum (running until 18 October 2026) brings more than 250 objects exploring nearly 70 years of Barbie history, fashion, design and cultural impact to Scotland for the first time.

Ruth Handler and husband Elliot were inspired by Lilli the plastic manifestation of a racy strip cartoon aimed at men in the German tabloid Bild. Pouting, slutty Lilli was forever getting into scrapes, losing her clothes in the process. She became a 3D plastic car mascot that decorated dashboards and rearview mirrors. Handler saw the potential of scaling the doll up, making her a teenage fashion doll aimed at girls and giving her an array of outfits for every conceivable occasion from picnic to prom.

If the toyshops were initially sceptical so were the moms. The first Barbie doll, named after the Handlers’ daughter, had a Bardot-style ponytail, came in a strapless zebra-striped bathing suit and high-heeled mules, all for $3. She had kissable lips, a pert bust and a suggestive side-eye that gave her the look of a sugar-daddy’s knowing plaything.

Convinced of the doll’s potential, the Handlers were nevertheless concerned about controversy. Their company, Mattel, engaged the pioneering advertising psychology consultant Earnest Dichter to suggest ways to counter parental objections. As the 1960s dawned not all little girls wanted a baby doll to teach them the joys of motherhood. Barbie was a far more glamorous model to aspire to. Mattel, in 1963, introduced Barbie’s gal pal, the far less threatening Midge who had the same body as Barbie – so they could share clothes –but had big eyes, freckles and red, curly hair. If Barbie was the bride Midge was forever the bridesmaid. They could race around in their own hot rod car but Barbie would be at the wheel. Fellow companions followed: an array of boyfriends, little sisters, and BFFs.

The female silhouette changed and in 1966 Mattel Barbie’s ‘MODern cousin’ Francie was notable for her boyish hips, flat chest and Carnaby Street-inflected miniskirts and go-go boots. Bad news for Barbie: attitudes were changing too. The entire Barbie clan could be criticised for its vapid lifestyle, obsession with clothes and appearance and compulsive acquisitiveness (the sports car, the beach house, the swimming pool).

There was criticism too that Barbie was inadvertently teaching little girls that they’d only be worthwhile if they were pretty and thin and white. As the years went by Mattel introduced countless variations. Christie and Brad (1968) were the first black Barbies and other races followed. There was Barbie as a mother, an astronaut, a doctor, even a presidential candidate. Barbie in a wheelchair.

Is Barbie a bad influence? ‘The doll functions like a Rorschach test,’ writes MG Lord in her 1994 book Forever Barbie. ‘People project wildly dissimilar and often opposing fantasies in her. Barbie may be a universally recognised image, but what she represents in a child’s inner life can be as personal as a fingerprint.’

Barbie’s global popularity is unsurpassed. Andy Warhol did her portrait. She was described as ‘a space-age, mid-century plastic fertility symbol.’ Ancient history is littered with miniature effigies; cult objects of intense power found in caves and Egyptian tombs. There were scores of rivals (Britain’s Sindy was but one) so Barbie was constantly innovating. She could bend her legs and twist at the waist. There were celebrity incarnations like Twiggy in the mid-60s and, more recently, historical figures like Rosa Parks and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The 1991 range of special collector variations, aimed at adults, were dressed in extravagant gowns by Cher’s favourite designer Bob Mackie. In the Kelvingrove gift shop you can buy a Kylie Barbie. She comes in an extravagant gown. In pink.

Barbie The Exhibition Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum until Oct 18. Visit the event website for info.

Bluesky: @kenwilson84.bsky.social