Our Stories: Meet the Creator of The Black Barbie

Louvenia "Kitty" Black Perkins, Creator of the Black Barbie

With the historic box office success of the movie Barbie, what is our fascination with this doll? Hear about a brief history of Barbie from the creator of the Black Barbie, Louvenia "Kitty" Black Perkins.
Kitty grew up playing with white dolls gifted by her mother’s employers. In the 1960s, Black Perkins attended an all-black school, Carver High School, where she excelled in art. Upon graduation, she received the gift of a trip to visit her aunt and uncle in California. There, Kitty put her name on a waitlist for commercial art classes at Los Angeles Trade Technical College and, in the meantime, took a fashion design course.

At Mattel, Black Perkins earned an assignment in 1979 to create an outfit for the first black doll to be named “Barbie.” Black Perkins created an outfit for “Black Barbie” that was meant for the spotlight. Barbie wore stud hoop and dangle earrings, a bold modernist necklace, and a fabulous red bodysuit with a wrap-and-snap disco skirt. On the doll’s box, Mattel touted, “She’s black! She’s beautiful! She’s dynamite!” This new Barbie incarnation met with mixed reviews, but she represented one of the first attempts of a major toy company to reflect black pride.