New dolls showcase the beauty of skin condition and hair loss.
Mattel has released six new Barbie dolls in an effort to showcase the diversity of beauty in the world.
The new dolls include a doll that has the skin condition vitiligo, as well a doll with hair loss as part of its more diverse new look. The new line hopes to show girls that everyone is beautiful as they display “a multi-dimensional view of beauty and fashion”.
The vitiligo doll prototype was posted on Instagram last year and was its most-liked post ever. Vitiligo is a skin condition that causes loss of skin pigmentation in patches and has no cure. Vitiligo Barbie was designed with the help of dermatologists to accurately represent women and girls with the condition, and show confidence and beauty.
The Barbie Fashionista line was expanded in 2019 when Barbie dolls with prosthetic limbs, wheelchairs were introduced, along with more textured and diverse hair textures. Barbie has also introduced dolls with more realistic body types; curvy, petite, and tall. The company has worked over the past five years to expand the line to “better reflect the world” with diverse, body-positive dolls that include nine body types, 35 skin tones, and almost 100 hairstyles.
Ken has also gotten in on the makeover and has new hairstyles and more diverse body types, including a Ken doll with long rooted hair that also debuted last week.
The new Barbies are on sale now, retailing for $9.99 online, and will likely be on retail store shelves soon.
Courtesy of Mattel
Barbie also announced that the first-ever Barbie You Can Be Anything Festival will be held on March 7, 2020, in Los Angeles, California. Ticket sales from that event will be donated to a Dream Gap Project through GoFundMe. The day-long event aims to inspire girls with role models, hands-on activities, workshops, as well as musical performances and a dance party.
In a world with so many forms of self-expression and unique people the definition of beauty is changing, these dolls are one way to help every girl feel beautiful—and we're here for it!
We love these new inclusive dolls and can’t wait to see what Barbie comes up with next. What kind of Barbie doll do you want to see? Let us know what you think in the comments.
