Barbie Style: Vogue Italia’s Black Edition, part due

Following the success of last July’s all-black edition of Vogue Italia, Franca Sozzani has produced a supplement for this month’s issue that features black Barbies. “Barbie has been an icon for whole generations, which is why I really wanted to give a strong sign in step with the times, and dedicate the anniversary issue to Black Barbie,” she says in a press statement about the special supplement. The original black edition saw a 40% jump in newsstand sales. I personally love the idea of the Barbie pull-out. My parents used to make it a point to buy me black Barbie dolls, which I would often give make-believe fashion shoots. So my inner 6-year-old is relishing the idea of all of those little brown, plastic beauties having their high fashion moment. The first black Barbie hit stores in 1980. This year, the brand gives her an update with a series called So In Style, which features more realistic facial features (pictured below). So when you consider all of the recent high-profile Barbie happenings (50th anniversary fashion week runway extravaganzas, Vogue Italia, limited edition dolls) and the fact that designer Jason Wu has a series of dolls wearing miniature versions of his work for sale at Colette in Paris, does that mean that 2009 is officially the year of the doll?