Mario Paglino and Gianni Grossi, a 52- and 55-year-old same-sex couple who designed custom Barbie dolls for the toy company Mattel, died alongside their 37-year-old passenger Valerio Giurni, in a car accident in Italy on Sunday, July 27. Their vehicle crashed into that of an 82-year-old man who had been driving the wrong way for about four miles.The old man, Egidio Ceriano, also died in the crash. The wife of the couples now-deceased passenger, 36-year-old Silvia Moramarco, has since been hospitalized in a hospital in Milan, Italy. The official Barbie Instagram account wrote a message expressing sorrow over the tragedy. Related Grab some tissues for this viral love story of a gay couples heartbreaking proposal Jack and Jacks love story was memorialized on a park bench that people now visit. The same-sex couple owned a company called Magnia2000, which created custom Barbie dolls styled after famous celebrities like bisexual pop stars Lady Gaga and Madonna, queer artist Frida Kahlo, queer icon Lady Oscar of Italy, queer allies Cher and Sarah Jessica Parker, and other famous models throughout history. Their custom dolls often featured ornate gowns and styled hairdos. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Barbie (@barbie) Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The Barbie team is heartbroken by the loss of Mario Paglino and Gianni Grossi, two treasured creators and Mattel collaborators who brought joy and artistry to the world of Barbie, the official Barbie Instagram account wrote in a post commemorating the couples death.As passionate and talented designers and lifelong collectors, their spirit and love for the brand turned every creation they touched into a masterpiece, the post added. Beyond their remarkable talent, they shared an energy that lit up every space they entered.Their generosity was boundless, creating countless dolls to be auctioned to benefit charities close to fellow collectors hearts. Barbie is better because they loved the brand, and our beloved collector community is richer for having known them and shared in their passion. Barbie honors their memory with deep gratitude, the post concluded. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Carol JS Roth (@caroljsroth)In addition to creatingthe Italian Doll Convention, Europes largest fashion dolls event, the men also served as consultants forthe Italian Barbie The Icon exhibition in Milan and Rome, where they also displayed part of their personal Barbie collection, People magazine wrote.We love to create haute couture outfits and concept dolls and our artistic life has been a journey through fashion and graphic designing, landed on this incredible world of doll collecting, the couple said in an interview with GTG Dollwear.We started collecting back in 1997, when we first met, the couple added. We both re-discovered how much we loved playing with dolls in our childhood We both played with Barbie as children but unfortunately in different moments of our lives we were bullied by our friends for this. It was the 70s and early 80s and playing with dolls was not a manly game or was not acceptable for a boy in Italy. Our families gave all our dolls away and we both share the same story. The couple said that, later in life, they both have our dolls back and still enjoyed playing with them, stating, This is still the same feeling we have now, of course with a more mature and refined sense of style and techniques, but its always the pleasure to create something we like.Their companys name Magia is the Italian word for magic was a combination of their first names, Mario and Gianni. The men sometimes donated their dolls to auctions to raise money for charities benefitting sick children.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.