If you’re familiar with our Inspiring Women Collection, you know that it pays tribute to incredible heroines of their time. If the collection is new to you, then we’re thrilled to tell you that we’re featuring courageous women who took risks and challenged the status quo with our selections. Each one has helped pave the way for generations of girls to dream bigger than ever before.
Today, it’s our honor to add Madam C.J. Walker to the series. Walker is a Black entrepreneur, philanthropist, and activist. Born under the name Sarah Breedlove, Walker was the daughter of parents who were formerly enslaved and became sharecroppers. She became an entrepreneur by selling a line of hair care products and cosmetics, made specifically for Black women. Her thriving business established her as the first documented female self-made millionaire in America.
“I absolutely was familiar with Madam C.J. Walker before this project!” says designer Carlyle Nuera, who led the Barbie Signature team bringing this doll to you. “She's been on my dream list of icons to add to our Inspiring Women series. She created opportunities for herself, and uplifted other Black women, making her truly an inspiring woman.”
When it came time to work on a project about his real-life inspiration, Carlyle jumped at the opportunity, and the experience was every bit as amazing as he hoped it would be. “We worked directly with A'Lelia Bundles, the great-great granddaughter and official biographer of Madam C.J. Walker, and an author and journalist,” he says. “My research into what Walker wore, as well as what was typical of the early 1900s, was supplemented by access to the Walker family archives. A'Lelia sent us rare photos, as well as cultural insight for what was ideal for Black women at the time and insight to what Walker herself loved.”
The fashion Carlyle ultimately created for the Madam C.J. Walker Barbie Doll is a full-length skirt and a blouse with beautiful floral print and ruffled details. Walker had a playful and forward-thinking appreciation for fashion, and the fabrics used to create designs of the day. “Some of Walker's favorite colors included rich purples and turquoises, so that's what I put her in,” Carlyle says. Packaging designer Laydiana Chiv also took this to heart for her doll box design. “My favorite fun detail is that A’Lelia shared with us that Madam C.J. Walker’s favorite colors included lavender and purple – so we used those colors for the package,” Laydiana says. It’s almost like [Walker] helped us design it.”
As for the rest of the package, Laydiana notes that “For the Inspiring Women series, we always try to use a background or insert that shares a story related to the person. For this one, the insert background image we used is actually her estate, Villa Lewaro, where she employed many other Black people. We’re happy we were able to include that on the packaging, as they also played a big part in her story.” The women pictured are sales agents from the United States, the Caribbean, and Central America who attended the annual Madam C. J. Walker Beauty Culturists Convention in New York in 1924, five years after Walker’s death. Earlier that day, they visited Walker’s gravesite at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, then traveled to Irvington, New York for a picnic and tour of Villa Lewaro.
(One more fun fact about Villa Lewaro: It was a gathering place for many luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance, the movement that inspired Carlyle’s Harlem Theatre doll series.)
Because Walker was known for her hair care and cosmetics products, the team knew that needed to be a part of the overall presentation as well. “I wanted to capture Walker in a time in her life where she was selling her Wonderful Hair Grower, at public meetings and private home demonstrations – the true spirit of self-made,” Carlyle says. “So the doll even comes with a mini tin of her Wonderful Hair Grower!”
Accessories like this are always fun to add, and Carlyle worked with the team to make sure this one was as true to the real thing as possible. “I worked with Sean Olmos of the Mattel Sculpting Department to create a to-scale tin with lid that comes off to reveal sculpted hair grower inside!” he tells us. “Graphic designer Jendayi Smith created not just the delicate floral print of the blouse, but also the iconic Wonderful Hair Grower label, scaling it perfectly to fit onto the lid of the tin, while also still being recognizable.”
Specifically for the Madam C.J. Walker Barbie Doll, Carlyle adds, “I worked with A'Lelia to come up with a multi-dimensional color, a particular curl pattern and an era appropriate style with the twist that goes across her head like a crown.”
As we often say, imagining that you can be anything is the beginning. Actually *seeing* that you can makes all the difference. And the Madam C.J. Walker Barbie Doll , the latest in our Inspiring Women Collection, is a powerful example of what’s possible with unflinching determination like hers. The doll would make a great gift for someone special in your life, and a terrific addition to your own collection. Head over to our online shop and get her today
Madam Walker Family Archives/A’Lelia Bundles. All Rights Reserved.
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