Barbie

Black Barbie, 1980 Designed by Kitty Black Perkins, this was the first Black Barbie. Earlier diverse dolls in Barbie's world had been sidekicks; this one was Barbie herself. She wore a long, lustrous disco-style red dress with a gold collar and loose-curled natural hair, an evening look every bit as glamorous as the white doll's. Perkins said she wanted her to do the same things the white doll did, with a little more spice. For a list about how Barbie's look changed, she marks the point where the doll's idea of beauty first widened.