March 9, 1959, the first Barbie dolls hit the market. Slender beauty toy quickly became the most popular one in the world. Almost every girl at least once played this long-legged doll.

In the Tyumen center of Tatar culture Barbie enjoys a special attitude: here these beauties are turned into Tatar. For the past 8 years, pupils of the studio arts and crafts “Hazine” sew national outfits for the dolls. Costumes by hand are decorated with sequins, beading and embroidery, and as headdress kalfaks are made. Friend of beauty, Ken, too, did not go unnoticed. For him, the young seamstress sew vests, decorate them with national ornaments, and, of course, do skullcaps.

Chief of the circle Lyudmila Kondrasheva estimated that for eight years she and her pupils dressed hundreds of American dolls. Transformation of Barbie Lyudmila started in the circle of school № 94. There, in addition to Tatar, Russian, Ukrainian and other national costumes were sewn. Working at the Centre of Tatar culture, needlewoman came up with a project “Barbie in Tatar.” To see Barbie in kaflaks and Ken in skullcaps is possible not only at the exhibition, some of them decorate desktops of center employees.

Pupils of the studio enrich dolls with other clothes. For example, reincarnate them in the heroes of famous works. Little dressmakers have created for Barbie an image of Mermaid, for Ken – the image of Woodman from Gabdulla Tukai’s poem “Shurale”.