BillyBoy* (born 10 March 1960) is an American artist,

socialite A socialite is a person from a wealthy and (possibly) aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having traditio ...

and fashion designer who was a muse of Andy Warhol. Born in Vienna, he was adopted by a Russian couple who moved to New York City when he was four. In 1979 BillyBoy* began to design and manufacture

costume jewellery Costume or fashion jewelry includes a range of decorative items worn for personal adornment that are manufactured as less expensive ornamentation to complement a particular fashionable outfit or garmentBaker, Lillian. Fifty Years of Collectabl ...

under the label ''Surreal '' in Paris. A bracelet made by BillyBoy* and owned by

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

was sold at auction in 2011 for $6,875. BillyBoy* had a collection of over 11,000 Barbie dolls and 3,000 Ken dolls, and in 1987 authored the book ''Barbie: Her Life and Times''. During 1984–1990 Mattel sponsored two tours called ' (New Theatre of Fashion) curated by BillyBoy*. Like the original 1945 exhibit ', the exhibitions consisted of hundreds of dolls—in this case Barbie dolls—wearing miniature outfits made by Yves Saint Laurent and other prominent fashion designers. The exhibition toured France on board a

TGV The TGV (french: Train à Grande Vitesse, "high-speed train"; previously french: TurboTrain à Grande Vitesse, label=none) is France's intercity high-speed rail service, operated by SNCF. SNCF worked on a high-speed rail network from 1966 to 19 ...

-train entitled '. BillyBoy* designed two Barbie dolls for Mattel working as a designer and consultant, "" in 1984 and "Feelin' Groovy" in 1986. After finishing working with Mattel, BillyBoy* formed the "BillyBoy* Toys" company, and in 1989 BillyBoy* and his partner released the Mdvanii fashion doll. Warhol's last work ''Barbie, Portrait of BillyBoy*'' was a painting of BillyBoy* depicted as a

Barbie doll Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by American toy company Mattel, Inc. and launched on March 9, 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration. ...

and was presented to BillyBoy* in New York on 10 February 1986. The painting was gifted to BillyBoy* and hung in his living room. In 2014 the painting sold at the auction house

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...

for £722,500 ($1,161,780). A second version of Warhol's painting, this time with an orange-red background instead of blue, was created for and purchased by Mattel. In 1978 or 1979 BillyBoy* moved to Paris, where later his shop would be at 6

Rue de la Paix, Paris The rue de la Paix (English: Peace Street) () is a fashionable shopping street in the center of Paris. Located in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, running north from Place Vendôme and ending at the Opéra Garnier, it is best known for its jewe ...

. In 1993 BillyBoy* and his partner Jean Pierre Lestrade ("Lala") moved to Trouville-sur-Mer in France, then in 1997 to Switzerland, and finally in 2011 to Delémont, the capital of the Canton of Jura and near Basel. On 6 February 2012 BillyBoy* and Jean Pierre Lestrade married at the L’Hôtel de Ville in Délémont. On 13 February 1998 BillyBoy* and Lestrade founded the ' non-profit in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland. In 2012 the website of the Foundation was updated to reflect the creation of a future museum in Delémont.

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Further reading