Midway through Stevie Nicks’ concert at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night, the musician told the audience she had a “surprise,” sparking speculation among audience members about an unexpected potential guest: Could it be Lindsey Buckingham?
It turned out to be the special guest Barbie She was made to look like Nyx, and her musical abilities were limited to a striped tambourine.
Mattel, the maker of Barbie dolls, officially unveiled the Stevie Nicks doll at midnight Sunday, the latest addition to the Barbie universe in which she pays homage to musicians including Tina Turner, David Bowie and Celia Cruz.
(You’re probably thinking there are a lot of Barbie dolls this year, and you’re right. The crowd at Madison Square Garden didn’t seem to mind.)
Mattel has been making celebrity dolls since the 1960s, said Bradley Justice, doll historian and owner of Swell Doll Shop, which specializes in antique and vintage dolls.
“I see it as a kind of cross-branding, where you attract someone who may have previously had no interest at all in the doll or the brand, but suddenly becomes very excited to see their favorite singer or movie star,” he said. Or anything immortalized in 11 and a half inches.
Nicks doll’s outfit, as well as a pair of black Pasquale Di Fabrizio shoes, are inspired by her look on the cover of Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 album “Rumours.”
At the party, Nicks explained that she sent the album cover outfit, which she still owned decades later, to Mattel to capture that period of her life. Amid loud cheers, Nicks began speaking in a high-pitched Barbie voice, explaining how important the doll was to her.
Nix wrote On X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, when she looked at the doll, she saw herself as 27 years old.
“All the memories of walking out on a big stage in that black outfit and those amazing shoes come rushing back, and now I see myself in her face,” Nicks said.
At the concert, Nicks also selected a fan in the front rows to take home one doll and immediately began serenading the woman, named Sarah, with the song bearing her name from the album “Tusk.”
The doll went on sale after hours for $55, and pre-orders sold out almost immediately.
Mr. Justice said it was normal for the popular Barbie dolls to sell out quickly. “When you hear it’s coming, you just go ahead and start moving your fingers so the keyboard can type in your credit card number,” he said.
The rush for Nicks comes decades after Mattel created Barbie dolls that honor musicians, athletes and influential figures. Pioneers.
One of the first popular Barbie dolls, released in 1969, depicted Diahann Carroll as the star of “Julia,” the first American television series to chronicle the life of a black professional woman, Mr. Justice said.
Recently, Mattel released a doll of Celia Cruz, the Cuban-American singer known as the Queen of Salsa. The Cruz doll was revealed wearing a red lace mermaid dress In 2021 But it went on sale only this year.
Carlyle Noira, who designed that doll, he said on Instagram That the design team went back and forth “with the fabric vendor to get the right size for the lace design and maximize the gold metallic threads woven throughout.”
The Tina Turner doll, released in October 2022, is sold out in stores, but is available on eBay for hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of dollars.
This doll depicts Turner in the outfit she wore in the music video for “What’s Love Got to Do With It.”
Turner, who died last May, was very involved in the design process of her doll, Mattel designer Bill Greening said. In a press release. Mr. Greening explained that the design team studied Turner’s hair “from every angle” to capture her look. “There was a lot of teasing and hairspray!” He said.
David Bowie has been commemorated with two Barbie dolls dressed in tribute to two of his famous appearances.
Linda Kyaw Mershon, who led the design of the second doll, released last year, He said that Barbie was supposed to be like Bowie, “not quite like Bowie.”
The doll was wearing a replica of the light blue suit Bowie wore in “Life on Mars?” Video song.
The previous Bowie doll, released in 2019, dressed as Bowie’s alter ego, Ziggy Stardust, wore a red and blue striped metallic outfit with red platform boots and a gold circle on her forehead.
The Stevie Nicks doll was launched after a busy year for Barbie. The Barbie movie, released last July, generated more than $1 billion in ticket sales at the global box office in just a few weeks, according to Warner Bros., and also generated a windfall for Mattel.
Nix He told USA Today She loved the movie and said, “I had to go home and tell Stevie Doll all about it.”
Milena Delkic Reporting from Madison Square Garden contributed.
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