Carol Spencer is an American fashion designer. Most of her career from the early 1960s until 1999 was devoted to creating fashion for Barbie.
Carol Spencer | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1932 (age 91–92)[1] |
| Known for | Fashion design for Barbie |
| Notable work | Totally Hair Barbie |
Early life and education
editSpencer was born in 1932; until she was three, when her father died, the family lived in Texas.[1][2] She was raised in Minneapolis; whie she was still in school, her mother also died.[1][3] As a child she made outfits for paper dolls and then, learning from her grandmother, clothing for herself.[1][4]
She attended Washburn High School, graduating in 1950.[4][5] In 1955 she graduated with a bachelor of fine arts, concentrating on fashion design, from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.[1]
Early career
editAfter graduating from college she went to work in New York City for Mademoiselle.[1] She moved back to Minneapolis to design for Wonderalls, a children's clothing manufacturer.[1] She moved to Milwaukee to work designing sportswear.[1]
Barbie career
editIn 1963 she responded to a blind classified advertisement for a "cost-conscious fashion designer". The employer turned out to be Mattel, and the work was designing clothing for Barbie.[1] As part of the interview process she created several outfits and was hired to work with Ruth Handler and Charlotte Johnson.[1] From then until her retirement in1999 she designed exclusively for Barbie and other Barbie-universe dolls such as Chelsea, Ken, and Skipper.[1][6] Because Mattel did not put designers' names on packaging until the mid-1990s, most of her work was uncredited.[1] Her first credited design was Benefit Ball Barbie, which was the first Barbie Mattel gave a credit to.[4] She is the only designer to have her name printed on a doll, the 1996 Golden Jubilee Barbie.[5]
Spencer also designed some of the dolls themselves, including 1992's Totally Hair Barbie and Barbie's poodle, which Spencer modeled on her own dog.[6] She designed Surgeon Barbie after having a biopsy and noticing all the physicians were men.[3] She based some designs on her own clothing and accessories.
In 2017 she was inducted into the Women in Toys, Licensing & Entertainment Hall of Fame.[1]
Dressing Barbie
editSpencer wrote Dressing Barbie, a 2019 coffee-table retrospective of her work.[1][6][3][2]
Personal life
editSpencer was engaged once, prior to attending college.[1]
She retired in 1999.[1]
She lives in Los Angeles.[4]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Rosman, Katherine (2019-04-24). "The Chic Octogenarian Behind Barbie's Best Looks". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
- ^ a b Nachbar, Madeline (2019-07-15). "The Woman Who Dressed Barbie". Minneapolis St. Paul. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
- ^ a b c Tanabe, Karen (16 July 2023). "Meet the designer who made Barbie's early dresses — and her doctor's coat". Washington Post.
- ^ a b c d Stroozas, Sam; Cipolle, Alex V. (2023-07-19). "In 1963, she left Minneapolis for Mattel. She designed Barbie clothes for 35 years". MPR News. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
- ^ a b Mowbray, Nicole (2023-07-14). "Dressing Barbie: Meet the designer who created a miniature fashion icon". CNN. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
- ^ a b c Chow, Vivan; Cortese, Samantha (2023-07-26). "Meet Carol Spencer, the woman behind Barbie's iconic fashion". KTLA. Retrieved 2023-08-06.