She has a wardrobe to die for. She has the perfect figure. She makes 3.3 billion a year. And despite celebrating her 50th birthday this year, she remains at the pinnacle of beauty.

We should hate her; but in fact, we all have a long standing love affair with Barbie.

Realistically, most girls’ childhoods would have been barren without her. However this year’s commemoration serves not only to indicate her phenomenal effect on the toy industry over the last half century, but also her influence and privileges within the fashion industry. Her wardrobe has been touched by tens of top-notch designers over the decades, and this year is no different, as 50 designers have each been invited to create an outfit for the world’s favourite gal. The collection is to be showcased at her 50th anniversary catwalk show during New York Fashion Week next month.

Even the Lord of the Shoes himself, Christian Louboutin, is lending his magic to the plastic perfection; creating a special pair of pumps in the iconic Barbie Pantone 219 Pink which will be unveiled at her birthday celebrations. But Barbie is not a girl who forgets to say thank you- she has just offered to sponsor the shows of Roksanda Ilincic and Danielle Scutt, demonstrating her increasing potential to spur on an industry which has so frequently taken her under its wing.

However if you haven’t received your birthday invite yet, then you can always totter over to Shanghai, where her first (six-storey) department store is to be opened in March. At the ‘House of Barbie’, clients can not only buy dolls clothes, but life sized collections inspired by Barbie’s own innate style, and visit the in-house spa and bar. Frankly, we would expect nothing less from the most glamorous woman of our time.