ALTHOUGH Barbie was first available in stores in 1959, it would take 20 years for the brand to launch a Black doll with Barbie’s name.
The story of Black Barbie’s journey to store shelves is retold in Shonda Rhimes’ latest documentary.
Who is Louvenia ‘Kitty’ Black Perkins?
Louvenia Black Perkins, also known as Kitty Black Perkins, is an African American fashion designer who worked at Mattel for over 25 years.
She was born in 1948 in South Carolina during segregation and attended an all-Black high school in the 1960s.
Louvenia graduated with an associate’s degree in fashion design in 1971 and began working as a designer for children’s clothing, according to the National Museum of Play.
In 1976, she responded to a blind newspaper ad for a clothes designer. The ad ended up being for a job at the giant toy company Mattel.
Louvenia told the New York Post that after the interview, she “went out and purchased my first Barbie doll.
“And instead of making one outfit, I made six. The vice president of the company hired me on the spot.
“And on top of that, the six outfits I brought in — they put them in the line that year.”
When did Louvenia ‘Kitty’ Black Perkins create the Black Barbie doll?
In 1969, Mattel launched a Black doll named Talking Christie, who was said to be Barbie’s friend, but it took ten more years for the company to release a Black Barbie doll.
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Now a permanent employee at Mattel, Louvenia began creating classic silhouettes and haute couture for Barbie dolls in 1976.
In 1979, Louvenia was tasked with creating an outfit for the first black doll to use the Barbie name.
Black Barbie was first available in stores in 1980 and was a sharp contrast to the original Barbie, who typically wore pastel colors.
The Black doll had short, curly black hair and wore a red bodysuit with a wrap-and-snap disco skirt and red heels.
Louvenia told CBS, “Everything Barbie was, I wanted Black Barbie to be the opposite.”
“I wanted her to be able to do the same things that the White doll did, but just add a little more spice.”
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Where is Louvenia ‘Kitty’ Black Perkins today?
Louvenia retired from Mattel in 2004 as the Chief Barbie Designer after 28 years at the company.
Per the Post, she launched a line of embellished jeans and also does custom alterations.
Her experience creating the first Black Barbie is revisited in Shonda Rhimes’ documentary Black Barbie.
Black Barbie premieres on Netflix on June 19.