Boy

Billy Boy (1960) was an american jewellery designer and collector. He has two passions: creating fantasy jewels and collecting high fashion clothes and dolls. Born in Vienna, at a very young age he began to breathe the air of luxury clothes. By the age of 13 he was already collecting them, and today he has more than 11,000 pieces, 2,500 of which are by Elsa Schiaparelli. In 1975 in Paris, on Rue de la Paix, he opened Surreal Couture and, five years later, Surreal Bijoux. It was 1980 and he was only 20. The friend of artists, actors, and important figures in the fashion world, he created “surrealist” bijoux for Thierry Mugler and Charles Jourdan. Among his clientels were Elizabeth Taylor and Lauren Bacall. His works have been shown at the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and at the Musée des Arts de la Mode. In 1989 he launched his mannequin doll Mdvanii in Europe, and four years later he published his book Bluette (Maeght Publishing). In 1990, a traveling exhibition (Le Grand Tra La La) took him abroad and makes his creations famous. He owns the most important Collection of Barbie dolls, the doll which drove millions of little girls and teenagers all over the world crazy. Rather than a traditional doll, the mythical Barbie looks like a model, tall, slender and sexy. Its characteristics are accentuated by the hairdos and accessories, and, especially, by its very rich wardrobe, ranging from sumptuous wedding and evening dresses to furs and bathing suits. From this Billy Boy got the idea of dedicating an exhibition to her at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 1985. There were 300 Barbies dressed by 61 important designers, among them Kenzo, Gaultier, Coveri, Mugler, and Montana. The wedding dress was by Féraud, and the red fur by Dior, while Saint-Laurent dedicated to her as many as 16 models from previous Collections. Inspired by Bettina, his eternal muse, Billy Boy dressed Barbie with a ’60s-style black dress, very simple and linear.