Halfway by Stevie Nicks’s live performance at Madison Sq. Backyard on Sunday night time, the musician informed the viewers that she had a “shock,” prompting hypothesis amongst viewers members a couple of potential sudden visitor: Might it’s Lindsey Buckingham?
It turned out that the particular visitor was a Barbie made to appear to be Nicks, and its musical talents have been restricted to a tiny ribboned tambourine.
Mattel, the producer of Barbie, formally unveiled the Stevie Nicks doll at midnight on Sunday, the newest addition to the world of Barbie tributes to musicians, together with Tina Turner, David Bowie and Celia Cruz.
(You could be pondering, that’s numerous Barbie this yr, and you might be proper. The viewers at Madison Sq. Backyard didn’t appear to thoughts.)
Bradley Justice, a doll historian and proprietor of the Swell Doll Store, which makes a speciality of vintage and classic dolls, mentioned that Mattel has been making movie star dolls for the reason that Sixties.
“I see it as form of a crossover branding, the place you appeal to somebody who beforehand might haven’t had an curiosity in any respect within the doll or the model,” he mentioned, “however immediately may be very excited to see their favourite singer or film star or no matter immortalized in 11 and a half inches.”
The Nicks doll’s outfit, in addition to a pair of Pasquale Di Fabrizio black platform boots, was impressed by her look on the quilt of Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 album “Rumours.”
On the live performance, Nicks defined that she despatched the album cowl outfit, which she nonetheless had a long time later, to Mattel to seize that point in her life. To roaring cheers, Nicks started to talk in a high-pitched Barbie voice, explaining how a lot the doll meant to her.
Nicks wrote on X, the social media platform previously generally known as Twitter, that when she seemed on the doll, she noticed herself at 27.
“All of the recollections of strolling out on an enormous stage in that black outfit and people beautiful boots come speeding again,” Nicks mentioned, “after which I see myself now in her face.”
On the live performance, Nicks additionally selected a fan within the entrance rows to take one doll house and promptly started to serenade the lady, named Sara, with the observe bearing her identify from the album “Tusk.”
The doll went on sale hours later for $55, and preorders offered out nearly instantly.
Mr. Justice mentioned that it was regular for the movie star Barbie dolls to promote out shortly. “While you hear it’s coming, it is advisable simply go forward and begin limbering up your fingers in your keyboard to kind in your bank card quantity,” he mentioned.
The push on the Nicks doll comes after a long time of Mattel’s creation of Barbie dolls that honor influential musicians, athletes and pioneers.
Mr. Justice mentioned that one of many first movie star Barbie dolls, launched in 1969, depicted Diahann Carroll because the star of “Julia,” the primary American tv sequence to chronicle the lifetime of a black skilled girl.
Carlyle Nuera, who designed that doll, said on Instagram that the design staff had gone backwards and forwards “with the material vendor to get the proper scale of the lace design and to maximise the gold metallic threads woven all through.”
A Tina Turner doll that was launched in October 2022 has offered out in shops, however it’s obtainable on eBay for a whole lot, and generally hundreds, of {dollars}.
That doll depicts Turner within the outfit she wore within the music video for “What’s Love Obtained to Do With It.”
Turner, who died in Might, was very concerned along with her doll’s design course of, Invoice Greening, a Mattel designer, mentioned in a news release. Mr. Greening defined that the design staff studied Turner’s hair “in any respect angles” to seize her look. “Numerous teasing and hair spray was concerned!” he mentioned.
David Bowie has been commemorated with two Barbie dolls wearing tribute to 2 of his well-known appears.
Linda Kyaw-Merschon, who led the design of the second doll, which was launched final yr, said that it was meant to be a Barbie as Bowie, “not Bowie precisely as himself.”
The doll was wearing a duplicate of the powder blue swimsuit Bowie wore within the “Life on Mars?” music video.
The sooner Bowie doll, launched in 2019, dressed as Bowie’s alter ego, Ziggy Stardust, wore a metallic purple and blue striped get-up with siren-red platform boots and a gold circle on her brow.
The Stevie Nicks doll was launched after an enormous yr for Barbie. The Barbie film launched in July made greater than $1 billion in ticket gross sales on the world field workplace in just a few weeks, in line with Warner Bros., and has created a windfall for Mattel.
Nicks told USA Today that she beloved the film and mentioned “I needed to come house and inform my Stevie doll all about it.”
Melina Delkic contributed reporting from Madison Sq. Backyard.
