NEW BARBIES RELEASED BY MATTEL CELEBRATES THE DIVERSE BEAUTY OF BLACK WOMEN
Mattel, the company that makes Barbies, has been putting a lot of effort into creating diverse dolls lately that showcase women of all hues, shapes, and sizes as well as occupations. The company's most recent Barbie collection, which was created in partnership with Bermudan stylist and creative consultant Shiona Turini, debuted during Black History Month in February.
The latest line of clothing is a part of Barbie Style, a series that combines culture, art, and fashion. "Although Barbie was one of my first fashion icons, I grew up obsessed with her. I remember scouring the shelves for a doll that looked like me and always coming up empty-handed," Turini recalls. "In 1980, the first black Barbie made her debut, dressed in a glittery red dress and sporting an Afro pick in her hair." Turini decided to bring back the original black Barbie as part of the new collection as a tribute. In addition, she expanded the collection with several new dolls that were dressed to honour the diversity of black culture.
A variety of skin tones and hairstyles, such as finger waves, afros, braids, and "everything in between," are seen on Turini's Barbies. Turini created a line of doll-sized red ensembles for them that were modelled after the original black Barbie.
She used the costumes she created for the movie Queen & Slim, which she worked on last year, as inspiration for another collection. "The stand-out, 'hero' look for me when working on the movie Queen & Slim was combining tiger and snakeskin prints in one look," Turini says.
"I was thrilled to use the same formula on pieces like Barbie's thigh-high boots to break the traditional mould of dolls I had grown up playing with, as the contrast of the two patterns completely subverts expectations."