Barbie’s New Collection Has Curvy, Petite, And Tall Dolls
The move comes after dwindling sales and widespread criticism.
When you think of Barbie, you probably think of a blue-eyed, blonde-haired, impossibly proportioned doll like this.
Well, now she’s got company. You can add her tall, petite, and curvy friends to the club. Mattel just launched three new dolls aimed at making more body types and sizes available to Barbie fans.
The new 2016 Barbie Fashionistas line includes seven skin tones, 18 eye colors, and 18 hairstyles, in addition to the three new body types.
The change came out of a two-year design initiative from Mattel.
The initiative was aimed at pushing the brand to think about “progress not perfection,” Evelyn Mazzocco, the general manager of Barbie, said in a video for Time.
It was motivated by dwindling sales — sales of the toy dropped 16% in 2014 alone — and a weakening public perception of the brand.
“I think parents were saying that Barbie was a bad role model for girls, that she represents an unrealistic body type,” said branding and strategy consultant Jess Weiner in the video.
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Well, now she’s got company. You can add her tall, petite, and curvy friends to the club. Mattel just launched three new dolls aimed at making more body types and sizes available to Barbie fans.
The new 2016 Barbie Fashionistas line includes seven skin tones, 18 eye colors, and 18 hairstyles, in addition to the three new body types.
The change came out of a two-year design initiative from Mattel.
The initiative was aimed at pushing the brand to think about “progress not perfection,” Evelyn Mazzocco, the general manager of Barbie, said in a video for Time.
It was motivated by dwindling sales — sales of the toy dropped 16% in 2014 alone — and a weakening public perception of the brand.
“I think parents were saying that Barbie was a bad role model for girls, that she represents an unrealistic body type,” said branding and strategy consultant Jess Weiner in the video.
