The Barbie Basics
Design Idol came after in phase which Mattel wanted to connect BarbieGirls.com to other Barbie dolls, as a way to promote both. This was after B Fab Fashionistas dolls with the Fashionistas dolls and the Groom and Glam Pet Salon based on a Nintendo Game. This was the first time Mattel connected Barbie Girls to it's Collector line with the Black Label Barbie dolls, the Barbie Basics. The line main point was to offer simple black dresses with ethnically diverse dolls which collectors could customize with accessory packs. This main point was what inspired the Design Idol Game.
The Game
Design Idol was accessible trough the Arcade and from Glam Gowns. While a game of Barbie Girls, it was quite different in format. Players would be directed to a different page than the usual BarbieGirls.com, mostly in tones of blue against the pink of the usual layout. There players could go to the Design Fashion! (where if they were V.I.P., they could create looks and submit to the contest), My Page ( a profile with some info such as when started to be a member and country plus the designs created if the player is a V.I.P.), Gallery (where all designs created would be shown and voted), Finalists Page (where all finalist designs are shown and can be voted to pick a winner), Winners Page (a special page dedicated to the winning player and design), How to Play (a guide to the Design Idol Game) and the Calendar (a Calendar which organized the weeks for voting in each finalist and voting for the winner and the announcement). There was also a search bar which players could search for other players usernames to check their pages.
The Fashions
If players were V.I.P. they could get the full Design Idol experience. As such they could create their own designs and submit to the gallery to be voted. Creating a design was similar to changing a characters look and outfit but with a few changes. In Choose a Look the skin colors, hairstyles (unique hairstyles were available), eyes and lips could be chosen, with some Club Beauty exclusive eyes and colors. In Pick a Dress players should choose one of the 12 black dresses and pick a pattern if they wanted. For Accessorize players could choose earrings, necklaces, bracelets (a new type of item), belts (another new type of item), scarves (which worked as necklaces) and glasses (which had the option to be put on top of the model's head).In Shoes & Purses players could pick a pair of shoes and purse (both had exclusive unique items and shoes and purses previously only available trough Fashion Packs or Glam Gown Packs.) After the look was finished players could submit their look and repeat as much as they wanted as there weren't a limit of entries.
The Competition
The Basic Black Dress Challenge consisted on voting and rating players designs, something which any member could do. As such the highest rated and most voted look would be elected as a finalist. V.I.P. Members could create as much designs they wanted but were only available for the week they were created. During eight weeks eight finalists were chosen (while designs were unique, the same finalist could repeat in different weeks), each finalist received a unique "Top Idol" top. After all picked, the voting for the Grand Prize Winner lasted during 2 weeks. After that the challenge restarted with new finalists and winner.
The Winners
Design Idol's Basic Black Dress Challenge had two editions, which means two winners (nannismontanis and mishrajade). The Grand Prize Winner received an exclusive dress, 10.000 B Bucks and the winning design "sold" on BarbieGirls.com, at Glam Gowns and B Charmed Accessories. The first winning look brought a model number 11 dress, the first ever bracelet, a purse and shoes. The second winner received her prizes but her design was never "sold" since not long after it was announced the online world would be closing and there were no longer updates. It is also unknown if there would be another type of different challenges on Design Idol since there was another collection of Barbie Basics themed around jeans.
The Badges
When Design Idol was first released, a new collection of Fashion gem badges was released, the Design Idol-Basic Black Dress Challenge. In the first weeks only few badges were available and took a while until all were. The badges were wined mostly by creating looks and voting. Quite a unique prize, players would be awarded two pairs of new eyes (smoky eyes and winking eye) and a new mouth shape, plus 250 B Bucks and the trophy stand.
