Barbie Designer Charlotte Johnson

Charlotte Johnson was the very first designer for the famous Barbie doll, the best selling doll in history. When Ruth Handler first conceived the idea for Barbie, she hired Johnson to assist in the creation and design of the doll and the fashions. Charlotte and Ruth had a shared passion for chic clothes and quickly agreed they wanted to give the Barbie dolla high fashion wardrobe.

Johnson created and led the entire fashion line for the Barbie doll. Her exclusive designs led to the now extensive Barbie wardrobe. She was responsible for creating the sophistication of Barbie's style which was reminiscent of the current trends of the late 1950's. She also created a vast selection of fashionable hats and heels that were made to coordinate with Barbie's wardrobe. These designs are now collectors items.

Charlotte Buettenback Johnson was born in Omaha, NE in 1917, the only child of Frank and Charlotte Holub Buettenback to survive to adulthood. Charlotte began her career as a freelance designer for women's clothes as well as a teacher at the well respected Chouinard Art School in California.

 She attended Kansas City Art Institute, then married sculptor Edgar Johnson Jr. The couple lived in New York, where he made ceramic products and she painted them. The marriage eventually ended – there were no children.

Johnson was the first to be hired as exclusive designer for the full line of Barbie dolls. She worked very closely with Ruth Handler while designing the fashion collections for Barbie. She had a keen eye and fashion sense when it came to re-interpreting European trends, in the smallest detail.

 Charlotte was also inspired by the top designs that were shown on the fashion runways of New York and Paris. She realized that by keeping up with the current fashion trends, the popularity of the doll would continue to increase.

Charlotte's designs for Barbie were exact in all of the detailing including dress linings, buttons, zippers and buttons. She even created cloth labels for the designs that read "Barbie® Mattel".

 In 1957, Charlotte traveled to Japan to oversee the new designs of Barbie's clothing line. She worked with Japanese seamstresses who sewed the Barbie clothing items by hand. She was known for her strict attention to detail, even to Barbie's jewelry and other accessories.

Johnson modeled many of the designs after fashionistas of her time including Doris Day and Jacqueline Kennedy. She created many high fashion designs for this widely celebrated 11 1/2" doll.

 Mattel was the first American company to produce a doll that could wear the designs that were seen worn on the modern day woman. The Barbie doll's fashions were a large part of its success and popularity among young girls.

 Charlotte had many other talents. She was very active within the artistic community, including being an accomplished pianist.  

Charlotte Johnson was the director of the Barbie fashion line from 1957 to 1980. She died in Santa Monica in 1997 and as she had directed, her remains were cremated, and the ashes interred at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Omaha, NE.