What do a Swiss file, Japanese design principles and Barbie have in common?
With all the hype and marketing surrounding Greta Gerwig’s new “Barbie” movie (including a multimillion dollar Barbie mansion in Malibu, California), you might not have caught a rather amusing anecdote about Japan’s role in creating the iconic doll by Mattel.
In the second season of the “LA Made” podcast, hosts Antonia Cereijido and M.G. Lord uncover the story of toy designer Jack Ryan’s experience producing the original Barbie dolls. When Ryan asked a Japanese toy company to create his modified version of a German Lilli doll (an anecdote also worth listening to the podcast for), he noticed an unexpected detail: The Japanese company added nipples onto Barbie’s breasts.