If she were a real live woman, she wouldn't be able to stand without tipping over (and she'd give the woman with record-breaking breasts a run for her money), but as a doll, female rite of passage, and cultural touchstone, no-one brings it quite like Barbie.
So we thrilled to AP's preview of this Saturday's Barbie runway show, an event we're pretty sure will be one of the coolest things about Fashion Week. Fifty couture bigwigs -- from Diane Von Furstenberg to Marchesa, Betsey Johnson to Tommy Hilfiger -- have each created an outfit for the blonde bombshell in honor of her 50th birthday. (You won't be able to buy the human-scale designs, though some will be on display at Bloomingdale's.)
What with most designers usually preferring small-busted models to show off their clothes (the fabric just drapes better), we'll be especially interested to see how many of the outfits take Barbie's unmistakably curvaceous assets into account. Peter Som certainly didn't: His gown design makes Barbie more Keira Knightley than Pamela Anderson.
