Mattel Releases Diverse Black Barbies

Mattel has released 10 Black Barbie dolls with different hair styles, skin tones and body types in honor of Black History Month.

Mattel has released 10 Black Barbie dolls with different hair styles, skin tones and body types in honor of Black History Month. Included in the Barbie Style collection, these new Barbies were created by Bermudan stylist and costume designer Shiona Turini, who recently worked on 2019’s Queen and Slim.

Turini posted about the new collection on her Instagram saying “I grew up obsessed with Barbie and while she was one of my first fashion icons, I clearly remember searching shelves for a doll that looked like me and coming up empty-handed”:

 


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Black Barbie dressed in… || I grew up obsessed with @barbie and while she was one of my first fashion icons, I clearly remember searching shelves for a doll that looked like me and coming up empty handed. The first black Barbie was introduced in 1980 – in a sparkly red dress with an Afro pick in her hair. Here she is, on her customized throne, surrounded by friends created and styled by me. I hope other young children, and adult Barbie lovers, are as excited to see themselves reflected in these dolls as I am. Thank you @barbiestyle – for collaborating with me to create barbies with braids, finger waves and everything in between. Chicks by the layers, all different flavors. And even a curvy doll, in a crop top, with waist length twists. Baby Shiona is PROUD. Representation matters and I’m so grateful to be a part of this moment.

A post shared by Shiona Turini (@shionat) on


Turini channeled the first Black Barbie from 1980 as well as costumes from Queen & Slim to create stylish looks for the Barbies. The looks follow three color schemes: monochromatic, snakeskin with black and white, and pastel colors. However, only the dolls are for sale; the outfits were just created for marketing purposes. The dolls wear hairstyles popular within the Black community including finger waves, twists, braids, afros, etc.

According to the New York Post, these Barbies are a part of the consistent rollout of diverse Barbies. Mattel has been recently releasing many Barbies of “different sizes, colors, abilities and professions,” and has even released a gender-neutral Barbie as well as a Judge Barbie.