he has had more than 250 careers, lived in over 50 different houses and has a shoe collection that would makeenvious. Now, at the age of an eternally youthful 65, Barbie has taken over the Design Museum, filling its galleries with a behind-the-scenes look into the creation of her pink plastic universe.unleashed by last summer’s hit film, don’t turn away just yet.
“This was the socially conservative era of Reagan and Thatcher,” says Thom. “We see Barbie’s world become much more suburban and opulent, reflecting upper-middle class aspirations of the time.” Kenneth Sean Carson’s name might never appear on the Dreamhouse title deeds, but there is a small section dedicated to Barbie’s dream man in the show. Just like the Barbie doll, it shows how attitudes to masculinity have changed over the decades, from the dawn of chiselled-jaw, broad-shouldered New Good-Lookin’ Ken of the 1960s to the decidedly ambiguous Earring Magic Ken of 1993.