By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
DailynewsegyptDailynewsegypt
  • Home
  • Business
    BusinessShow More
    Popular video-sharing app TikTok was granted by the U.S. government a 15-day extension to reach a deal with U.S. buyers, a federal court filing showed Friday. This means the deadline for ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, to reach a deal with Oracle and Walmart has been extended from Nov. 12 to Nov. 27, according to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
    TikTok updates its community guidelines
    March 23, 2023
    IFC to invest in Mediterrania Capital Partners’ fund to support African mid-cap businesses
    IFC to invest in Mediterrania Capital Partners’ fund to support African mid-cap businesses
    March 23, 2023
    Sukari gold mine’s production reaches 5.2 million ounces with $7.5bn revenues in February 2023
    Sukari gold mine’s production reaches 5.2 million ounces with $7.5bn revenues in February 2023
    March 23, 2023
    EFG Hermes records EGP 11bn revenue in FY22
    EFG Hermes records EGP 11bn revenue in FY22
    March 23, 2023
    Egyptian Environment Minister discusses cooperation with WFP representative in Cairo 
    Egyptian Environment Minister discusses cooperation with WFP representative in Cairo 
    March 23, 2023
  • Politics
    PoliticsShow More
    Egypt's Health Minister discuss bilateral cooperation with an Italian delegation 
    Egypt’s Health Minister discuss bilateral cooperation with an Italian delegation 
    March 23, 2023
    Egypt’s foreign minister phones Algerian counterpart over boosting ties
    Egypt’s foreign minister phones Algerian counterpart over boosting ties
    March 22, 2023
    Turkish President  Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Egypt President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi met in Doha
    Opinion| Türkiye and Egypt: For better times with many opportunities
    March 22, 2023
    Drought caused 43,000 deaths in Somalia in 2022: UN
    Drought caused 43,000 deaths in Somalia in 2022: UN 
    March 22, 2023
    Opinion| The Chinese dragon occupies America's place in the Middle East
    Opinion| The Chinese dragon occupies America’s place in the Middle East
    March 22, 2023
  • Interviews
    InterviewsShow More
    Government should help Egyptian arts revive its pioneering role: Omar Abdel Aziz
    Government should help Egyptian arts revive its pioneering role: Omar Abdel Aziz
    March 15, 2023
    Interconnected healthcare systems in Africa require political will from North African leaders: Amref official
    Interconnected healthcare systems in Africa require political will from North African leaders: Amref official
    March 12, 2023
    EGX ready for government’s IPOs programme: Chairperson
    EGX ready for government’s IPOs programme: Chairperson
    February 15, 2023
    British International Investment invests $4.5bn in 700 businesses across Africa: Sherine Shohdy
    February 15, 2023
    Valeo has invested around €0.5bn in Egypt over the past 10 years: CEO
    Valeo has invested around €0.5bn in Egypt over the past 10 years: CEO
    December 27, 2022
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
Reading: Toy story: Taiwan town preserves Barbie legacy
Share
Notification
Latest News
Popular video-sharing app TikTok was granted by the U.S. government a 15-day extension to reach a deal with U.S. buyers, a federal court filing showed Friday. This means the deadline for ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, to reach a deal with Oracle and Walmart has been extended from Nov. 12 to Nov. 27, according to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
TikTok updates its community guidelines
Business
Strong representation of women in TV series of Ramadan 2023
Strong representation of women in TV series of Ramadan 2023
Culture Cinema
IFC to invest in Mediterrania Capital Partners’ fund to support African mid-cap businesses
IFC to invest in Mediterrania Capital Partners’ fund to support African mid-cap businesses
Business
Sukari gold mine’s production reaches 5.2 million ounces with $7.5bn revenues in February 2023
Sukari gold mine’s production reaches 5.2 million ounces with $7.5bn revenues in February 2023
Business
EFG Hermes records EGP 11bn revenue in FY22
EFG Hermes records EGP 11bn revenue in FY22
Business
Aa
Aa
DailynewsegyptDailynewsegypt
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • Advertise
© 2023 DNE News. All Rights Reserved.
Dailynewsegypt > Blog > Politics > Toy story: Taiwan town preserves Barbie legacy
Politics

Toy story: Taiwan town preserves Barbie legacy

AFP
Last updated: 2015/08/19 at 4:19 AM
By AFP 5 Min Read
Share
SHARE

More than two decades since the last Barbie rolled off the assembly line in Taiwan, nostalgic former factory workers are preserving her memory by tailoring exquisite dresses for the iconic doll.

For these women, making the outfits is a labor of love, recalling the days when the plant run by US toymaker Mattel was a major employer in the northern town of Taishan, near capital Taipei.

Chou Su-chin smiles as she thinks about her first job. She left the island s impoverished southern countryside to sign up at the factory when she was 18.

I d never seen anything as beautiful as Barbie. I loved the dolls so much, the 59-year-old said, adding with a hint of sadness: I really miss my job.

In its heyday the factory supported one in every three Taishan residents and during the 1960s and 70s the community prospered as exports soared. The era coincided with Taiwan s transformation from a rural society into a rich industrialized one.

Today, the Meining workshop set up by the former workers close to the original factory displays around 100 hand-sewn dresses modeled by Barbie dolls, for which the dressmakers have drawn inspiration from Taiwanese and Chinese culture.

The dresses, which are for sale, include a regal gown inspired by Wu Zetian, a woman who ruled China around 700 AD, as well as a range of outfits based on Taiwan s five first ladies.

For us, making a doll s dress is like creating a piece of art, and it s how we pay tribute to Taishan s history as a Barbie-producing town, said Ku Chai-ra, manager of the workshop.

We were practically raised by Barbie and it has become a part of our lives. It s a beautiful memory for all of us in Taishan, said Ku, a former Mattel worker like her mother.

The doll-sized wardrobes of clothes for Taiwan s first ladies feature a suit for Wu Shu-chen, together with miniature jewelry and a wheelchair.

Wu, the disabled wife of former president Chen Shui-bian faces a life sentence for corruption, as does her husband, who ruled Taiwan from 2000 to 2008.

Ku s staff also made mini qipao, the figure-hugging Chinese dress, based on those worn in pictures by Soong Mei-ling, the elegant wife of late Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek, who fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war to the communists in China.

The five first ladies are from different eras and represent Taiwan s history and its fashion trends, Ku said.

Many brides-to-be still come to the workshop to order miniature versions of their wedding gowns as souvenirs, she added.

Mattel began producing Barbie in 1959, and immediately struck gold with a product that appealed to the daughters of middle-class families throughout the increasingly wealthy Western world.

Eight years later, Mattel opened the Taishan facility, one of its first factories in Asia, attracted to the island by its then-cheap labor force and plastic manufacturing know-how.

But the dolls were out of the price range of the workers who produced them.

Barbie was so precious at that time since it was for export only. Besides, we couldn t possibly afford a doll that cost more than our salary, Chou said.

A Mattel worker earned 900 Taiwan dollars ($28 at current exchange rates) a month in the late 1960s while a Barbie doll purchased in Japan cost around 1,200 Taiwan dollars.

But 900 Taiwan dollars was only slightly below the average income at the time and for a teenage peasant girl it seemed a fortune, Chou said.

Like her, many Taishan residents spent the best years of their lives in the factory until it closed in 1987 when Mattel relocated its production lines to China and elsewhere because of cheaper labor and material costs.

Many in Taishan now hope that their efforts to promote the town s Barbie connection will encourage the company to open a museum or a flagship store there, Ku said.

It would be very meaningful as Taishan is practically a home town to Barbie, she said.

You Might Also Like

Egypt’s Health Minister discuss bilateral cooperation with an Italian delegation 

Egypt’s foreign minister phones Algerian counterpart over boosting ties

Opinion| Türkiye and Egypt: For better times with many opportunities

Drought caused 43,000 deaths in Somalia in 2022: UN 

Opinion| The Chinese dragon occupies America’s place in the Middle East

TAGGED: Gamma Islamiya
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Email Print
By AFP
Follow:
AFP is a global news agency delivering fast, in-depth coverage of the events shaping our world from wars and conflicts to politics, sports, entertainment and the latest breakthroughs in health, science and technology.
Previous Article Unjustified violence on April 6
Next Article Al Khan
Leave a comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Ad image

Stay Connected

Facebook Like
Twitter Follow
Instagram Follow
Youtube Subscribe

Latest News

Popular video-sharing app TikTok was granted by the U.S. government a 15-day extension to reach a deal with U.S. buyers, a federal court filing showed Friday. This means the deadline for ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, to reach a deal with Oracle and Walmart has been extended from Nov. 12 to Nov. 27, according to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
TikTok updates its community guidelines
Business
Strong representation of women in TV series of Ramadan 2023
Strong representation of women in TV series of Ramadan 2023
Culture Cinema
IFC to invest in Mediterrania Capital Partners’ fund to support African mid-cap businesses
IFC to invest in Mediterrania Capital Partners’ fund to support African mid-cap businesses
Business
Sukari gold mine’s production reaches 5.2 million ounces with $7.5bn revenues in February 2023
Sukari gold mine’s production reaches 5.2 million ounces with $7.5bn revenues in February 2023
Business
//
Egypt’s only independent daily newspaper in English. Discuss the country’s latest with the paper’s reporters, editors, and other readers.

Quick Link

  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

© 2023 DNE News. All Rights Reserved.

Join Us!

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss our latest news, podcasts etc..

Zero spam, Unsubscribe at any time.

Removed from reading list

Undo
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?