Why are  the Silkstone Barbies so popular with collectors?

The Fashion Model™ Barbie® dolls are a huge hit with collectors.  Not since the days of the elegant vintage Barbie dolls have fashion doll collectors been so enthralled with a Barbie® doll series. Collectors cannot seem to get enough of these dolls—they are flying off the shelves, and many of the dolls are bringing prices well above retail at internet auction sites shortly after they are released.

The dolls are known officially as Fashion Model™ Barbie® Dolls, but you may have also heard of them as “Silkstone” dolls or “Lingerie Barbies.”

Why all the excitement about this line of dolls?  To understand why collectors are so enthusiastic, lets look at a brief history of Barbie Doll Collecting and then at the Barbie Fashion Model Collection.

Brief History Of Barbie Doll Collecting

Fashion doll collectors have collected and loved the vintage Barbie dolls starting in the early 1970s, very soon after the classic “vintage” look dolls with their detailed high-quality fashions were no longer being produced.  The classic “vintage” dolls were only produced by Mattel from 1959 to approximately 1966, when mod dolls and fashions took over.  New Barbies produced in the 1970s and 1980s were very play-oriented dolls, and often not of high quality.  The prevalent look in the 1980s was a “disco” look—big hair, big smile (the “Superstar” face mold) and shiny, glittery costumes.  

Doll collectors still loved Barbie, and many of them continued to collect the “pink box” play dolls during that era.  Then, in the late 1980s, Mattel created their first dolls aimed at adult collectors.  The first doll was a porcelain version of Barbie—the Porcelain Rhapsody in Blue Barbie in 1986.  Then, in 1988, Mattel released the 1998 Happy Holiday Barbie doll—the doll that really put Barbie dolls aimed at adult collectors on the map.  This doll was not produced in great numbers, but it became an immediate (and hard to get) hit.  Today, this doll sells for over $500.  

So, Mattel began to produce Happy Holiday dolls for collectors each year, as well as other collector Barbie dolls.  In 1994, Mattel produced a watershed doll—the 35th Anniversary Barbie doll, a reproduction of the original 1959 doll.  Collectors clamored for this doll…and they hoarded them.  Then, collectors started to hoard ALL the collector Barbie dolls.  People couldn’t find ANY collector Barbie dolls, except on the secondary market.  SO….Mattel increased production levels.  Eventually, the dolls became TOO easy to find, hoarders bailed out, and prices on the secondary market dropped to where we see them today—often, below retail.  At the end of the 1990s, it looked like the modern Barbie collecting craze was well over. 

Where Does The Fashion Model Barbie Fit In?

Where Does The Fashion Model Barbie Fit In?  Well, during the 1990s, adult collectors begged Mattel for a doll that was like the vintage doll of the early 1960s—a doll that came simply dressed (the 1960s dolls came in their bathing suits) with luxurious, detailed fashions available separately.  Barbie not as an astronaut, Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, Morgan Le Fay, or Morticia Adams, but Barbie as Barbie—as a fashion model!  

Mattel made a few half-hearted attempts at this in the 1990s.  For instance, the reproduction dolls had some beautifully detailed outfits, but they were only reproductions, and the outfits were never available separately (the dolls were only available as “dressed dolls”).  There was also the Barbie Millicent Roberts collection.  In this collection, Barbie was a modern working woman, and additional outfits WERE available separately.  Some of the outfits were very nice, with accessories and detailing.  But, they were not “high fashion.”  And, the dolls had very modern faces—very close to the faces used on the play line dolls.  Further, the dolls weren’t limited or exclusive in any manner, and they hit the shelves just when collectible Barbies were overproduced and everywhere.

SO…Mattel tried again to create a  doll to satisfy collectors yearnings for a sophisticated, dressable fashion doll, one that would go back to Barbie’s roots.  And THIS time….they got it right!

All About The Fashion Model Dolls

In late 1999, Mattel announced the new Barbie Fashion Model Collection.  Collectors were immediately excited for two reasons.  First, the dolls, by Mattel’s own account, would feature a “dazzling line of couture quality fashions and accessories designed by Robert Best.”  Finally…couture fashions, AND a well-respected designer at the helm.   Second, the material used for the doll body was called “Silkstone,” and it was promised to be an innovation. 

Shortly after the announcement, collectors saw the photos of the initial collection, and they liked what they saw, creating a positive “buzz” on the Internet and in doll magazines.  The initial collection consisted of two “basic” dolls—a blonde and a brunette dressed in lingerie (hence, the popular nickname for these dolls, “Lingerie Barbies.”) and a dressed doll called “Delphine” plus two separately available fashions, “Lunch At The Club” and “Garden Party.”  Collectors LOVED the photos, and waited for the dolls with true anticipation.

One other factor got thrown into the mix at this point which helped fuel collectors interest—Mattel decided that for 2000 it would reduce production numbers on most of its limited collectible dolls.  “Limited” dolls, which are what the Silkstone dolls are, would be produced in editions of no more than 45,000.  This sounds like a large number of dolls, but it was a true reduction in numbers from many of the other so-called limited dolls of the late 1990s.

The Dolls Are Released:  A Huge Hit

After the announcement of the dolls they sold out very quickly on the “dealer level,” meaning that quantities were no longer available for dealers to re-order.  In mid-2000 the dolls were released, and they were a huge hit.

First, the exclusive Silkstone was very well received by collectors. Silkstone was developed exclusively for Mattel, and it offers the silky smooth touch and heavy feel of porcelain, but yet the doll has a look much closer to vinyl than the look of actual porcelain (many collectors don’t like the porcelain Barbies because they look and feel SO different than the vinyl Barbie dolls that collectors have known and loved over the years).  The material also allowed for a beautiful skin tone and smooth, pretty facial features.  

The face of the doll was a delight to the vintage doll collectors—Mattel enhanced the original Barbie portrait sculpt from 1959, and updated the makeup.  The body was well sculpted, and the facial features vary—different shades of eye shadow and lip color are used.

And, the fashions also delighted collectors—the styles were high-fashion with a vintage feel, and details such as a straw purse for Garden Party, and a bouquet of roses for Lunch at the Club were very reminiscent of the little, detailed accessories that came with vintage outfits.

As mentioned, the dolls FLEW off the shelves.  In fact, only a few months after release of the original blonde and brunette Fashion Models, it was nearly impossible to find a brunette doll.  Today, the original brunette doll often sells for $140 to $160 on eBay.  The other dolls have also sold out quickly.

Of course, collectors don’t think the dolls are perfect— many would like to see fewer dressed dolls and more separately available fashions.  Also, some collectors feel that the fabrics used for the outfits could be a bit more luxurious given the high price of the items.  Other collectors, finding the dolls hard to get would like to see them LESS limited, and other collectors would like the dolls even MORE limited to help them retain their secondary market values.  Of course, Mattel can never please everyone…but with this popular line of dolls, they have come very close to doing just that!