Bild Lilli, the Original German Barbie Doll ♡ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - With the new Barbie movie coming up I thought I should make some Barbie inspired art. With some digging for references I came across the Bild Lilli doll. After reading up on Lilli, I realized many people don't know that her design was stolen! I thought it was interesting and wanted to do a piece about Lilli. ♡
Bild Lilli was popular in Germany for being one of the first 'mature' dolls, described as sexy, young, innocent, and fresh. In the 50s' Lilli was created for a newspaper comic strip before she became a doll. When Lilli got popular from her comics there was a demand from many women for Bild Lilli dolls and was later marketed for kids. With Bild Lilli, kids could dress her up in various fashion (much like Barbie).
The owners of Mattel had taken a trip to Germany where they saw the Bild Lilli Doll. They were enamored by Lilli and decided to take one back to America. Later on, in America a doll was put on the market who looked much like Bild Lilli, though her name was Barbie.