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I love Frank Gehry, the architect who propelled Bilbao onto the world stage with his extraordinary Guggenheim museum. Barbie? Not so much. But the news that one of her early Dreamhouses was inspired by Gehry’s mid-century designs has made me look at Barbie anew. In fact, our piece this week about Barbie: The Exhibition at London’s Design Museum may very well turn your pretty little head too.
Who knew Barbie’s world was a societal barometer of what was going on in the rapidly modernising 20th century? As our author Daisy McManaman points out, “her houses, fashions, vehicles and even her face, hair and body can be seen as a pink-tinted reflection of western culture”.
