Barbie mania in UAE: Residents dress up, relive memories to celebrate their favourite fashion doll

Expats have been choosing different ways to express their admiration ahead of the movie's worldwide premiere

Nasreen Abdulla

Published: Thu 20 Jul 2023, 5:15 PM

Last updated: Thu 20 Jul 2023, 7:48 PM

The world's best-known fashion doll 'is out of the box' exploring the human world, and nobody can keep calm. Ahead of the Barbie movie's worldwide premiere, her trademark pink vibes have caught on with the UAE residents celebrating their love for the doll.

From dressing up in Barbie clothes to sharing memories of their childhood collections, expats have been choosing different ways to express their admiration. Dubai resident Annie, who is in the Philippines for vacation, dressed up in Barbie costumes along with her friends to go watch the movie.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Annie said, “As a little girl, I loved my Barbies. I used to play with it all day long, and I loved dressing her up. So when I heard that the movie was released, I knew I had to watch it.”

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The teenager then hit upon the idea of dressing up in bright colours and clothes similar to what Barbie wears to pay homage to the dolls. “I thought it would be fun to dress up and ask my friends,” she said. “They also quickly hopped on board, and we enjoyed watching the movie.”

Annie (right) with her friend Fiona in Barbie clothes

Fond memories

For Moroccan expat Hind Bellouk, her childhood in France was filled with Barbie dolls. “Growing up, my three sisters and I had more than 30 Barbies, which were considered a huge treasure then,” she said. “I was so obsessed with society roles, playing more than focusing on the glamorous side of fashion. I had the doctor, nurse, teacher, cop, cook, and ballerina dancer.”

For Hind, one of the best memories was that of her eldest sister stitching new clothes for her Barbie dolls. “My mother, may God rest her soul in peace, used to surprise me with Barbie dolls whenever we did well in school,” she said. “And my elder sister used to stitch clothes for my dolls. What I loved most was that I could always bring a bit of Moroccan tradition to it. When I used to get Moroccan Kaftans made, my sister would use the rest of the fabric and stitch a matching kaftan for my dolls.”

For Pakistani expat Sidra Noor Alvi, some of her fondest childhood memories were of playing with Barbie dolls. “It used to transport me to a completely different world,” she said. “I could play with my dolls for hours on an end. It was my fantasy world and I even had personalized Barbie dinner set cups”

The beauty blogger recently recreated a Barbie look on her Instagram account in celebration of the movie that was released in theatres worldwide earlier this week.

Who is Barbie

First launched in 1959, Barbie is often considered one of the most popular dolls of all time. Since its launch, the doll has had a huge impact on the toy industry. It was one of the first to start selling merchandise and related items.

Despite its popularity, the sale of Barbie dolls declined sharply in the last couple of years. The release of the movie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, earlier this week is expected to boost the brand. With the attention garnered by the movie, several local brands have started selling special Barbie packages.

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