Barbie. The Icon Celebration.
Barbie. The Icon Celebration is the new edition of the volume published in 2016: new content and an updated timeline to celebrate 65 years of a timeless icon. The fruit of a partnership between 24 ORE Cultura and Mattel that will also lead to the publication in 2025 of the first book entirely dedicated to Ken and fashion.
The book celebrating the 65th birthday of a diva
Barbie. The Icon Celebration. , signed by art and fashion historian Massimiliano Capella, comes out in an updated and enriched version to mark the 65th birthday of the world’s most famous doll, an icon that never ages.
On the wave of Barbie-mania, linked to Greta Gerwig’s record-breaking 2023 box office film, 24 ORE Cultura has relaunched and updated the extraordinarily successful book first published in 2016 on the occasion of the exhibition at Mudec.
The richly illustrated volume chronicles the history and transformations of one of pop culture’s most influential icons, spanning 65 years since her first appearance on the U.S. market at the New York Toy Fair on March 9, 1959. The new edition features never-before-seen content: in five sections and an up-to-date timeline (1959-2024), all the changes of Barbie, who has best interpreted the transformations of contemporary Western society, are chronicled. Not only a timeless trend setter and inspirational muse, but an emblem of self-expression, an increasingly inclusive icon with a focus on social issues.
The glamour of the fashion icon is translated into a precious volume: large format, shocking pink faux-silk cover with glitter title and an apparatus of images tracing the aesthetic and stylistic evolution. An international publishing success subject to co-editions in many markets: France, UK, US, Germany and Spain.
Partnerships with Mattel
The Barbie Icon volume is part of a three-year partnership between Mattel and 24 ORE Cultura, which will consist of an editorial plan created in close collaboration with the brand.
In 2025, the publication of Just Ken, the first book entirely devoted to Barbie’s famous companion, introduced in 1961 by Mattel as her male complement. This volume, the result of extensive archival research, will explore the evolution of men’s style in fashion, tracing in parallel the changing role of men in society. A work that promises to offer new perspectives on an icon often less explored than its celebrated counterpart.