TWE 348: Karan Feder Explores Barbie® as Cultural and Fashion Icon in her New Book

Karan Feder, Costume Historian and author Barbie Takes the Catwalk:

“Did Barbie’s clothes actually reflect culture? You automatically say, ‘Well, of course,’ but no one had ever taken the time to actually prove it academically…So, this book tries to prove that Barbie’s fashion does, in fact, reflect culture and an evolution of fashion over a certain period of time.”

Hi Barbie! This is for all you Barbie and fashion fans! I had a lot of fun with this episode of The Women’s Eye podcast. Talk about a dream guest! I chatted with Karan Feder, a leading costume historian and author of the book, Barbie Takes the Catwalk. Feder says since 1959, no other doll has had such an impact on fashion as the one-and-only Barbie!

I’ve been a Barbie doll devotee since the 70s, so I was thrilled to go back in time and explore Barbie’s illustrious closet with this Las Vegas-based connoisseur of classic costume history. (As many know, I have never met a costume I didn’t like!)

The Women’s Eye first caught up with Karan Feder at the Phoenix Art Museum where she is showcasing her curated “Barbie®: A Cultural Icon Exhibition.” The touring national collection was a natural evolution from her book. Feder gathered an extraordinary collection of more than 250 vintage Barbies, most in their original outfits, along with a pink Corvette, to highlight the doll’s artistry and the significance of the fashion.

“What’s unique about this book and the accompanying exhibition is that it really focuses on Barbie’s fashion, where most other historical records that we’ve looked at document the evolution of the dolls’ silhouettes and her identity–which is super interesting—but not that interesting to me because I come from a fashion background,” Feder says.

Feder has also consulted on the Liberace Foundation collection, the Mob Museum and David Copperfield’s International Museum and Library of Conjuring Arts, to name but a few.

Her renowned archival work on the Tropicana Hotel’s legendary Folies Bergère cabaret show for the Nevada State Museum is recognized as one of the most consequential museum collections of cabaret costume collections in the world.

Her latest book was borne out of the pandemic and couldn’t have been released at a better time. A steady wave of Barbie nostalgia started with the billion-dollar blockbuster Barbie and continues with Shonda Rhimes Black Barbie documentary now streaming on Netflix.

Feder’s deep dive into 40 years of Barbie’s standout fashion moments—a lá legendary designer looks including Chanel, Pucci, Halston and Oleg Cassini on everyone from Twiggy to Barbra Streisand to First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy–is absolutely fascinating.

“Jackie’s personality was important to portray and to be a symbol for Barbie’s looks that was really interesting,” Feder says. “But what also was interesting were those moments in time and fashion genres that Barbie’s team did not embrace. You never saw Barbie in the late seventies wearing anything punk.”