Simon's Collectibles' News Blog

Mattel, Inc. announced today the addition of a blind Barbie doll and a Black Barbie doll with Down syndrome, created to allow even more children to find a doll that represents them and inspire all children to tell more stories through play.  “We recognize that Barbie is much more than just a doll; she represents self-expression and can create a sense of belonging," said Krista Berger, Senior Vice President of Barbie and Global Head of Dolls. “We proudly introduce a new blind Barbie doll and Black doll with Down syndrome to our Barbie Fashionistas line, reinforcing our commitment to creating products that represent global belonging and inclusivity in the doll aisle.” Barbie partnered with the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), an organization dedicated to creating a world of endless possibilities for individuals with blindness and low vision, to ensure details of the blind Barbie doll, including face sculpt, fashion, accessories, packaging experience, and e-commerce communication, accurately depict individuals with blindness or low vision. Counseled by AFB, Barbie was committed to represent individuals with blindness and low vision throughout all stages of the design process, from the doll’s sculpt to the dress pattern: Accessories: The doll comes with a white and red cane with an identifiable marshmallow tip and includes stylish and functional sunglasses. With some blind or low-vision individuals sensitive to light, the lens provides additional eye protection. Elbow Articulations: The blind Barbie doll includes elbow articulations to ensure comfortable cane use. Textured and Vibrant Fabrics: Barbie conducted testing with blind and low-vision children to ensure that the doll provided an accessible and satisfying play experience for kids with blindness or low vision. With AFB’s guidance, Barbie designed the doll’s fashion to include a satiny pink blouse with a textured ruffle skirt for tactile interest. Additional details include a brightly colored high-contrast hook and loop fasteners for closure on the back of the doll’s top, as well as an elastic skirt waistband to make swapping outfits easier. Packaging and Design: Barbie worked with AFB to create accessible packaging for the doll, including the placement and writing of ‘Barbie’ in braille on the package. Eye Gaze: The doll is designed with an eye gaze facing slightly up and out to accurately reflect the sometimes-distinct eye gaze of a blind individual.  "It was an honor to collaborate with Barbie on the development of the blind Barbie doll,” said Eric Bridges, CEO and President, American Foundation for the Blind. “By increasing representation and promoting awareness about the experiences of blind individuals and those with low vision, our shared goal is to inspire boundless opportunities for everyone, ultimately leading to a world of greater accessibility and inclusion." In 2023 Barbie introduced the first-ever Barbie doll with Down syndrome, which won the Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative of the Year award presented by the Toy Association.  This year, Barbie once again partnered with the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) to introduce its next doll with Down syndrome to the Barbie Fashionistas 2024 lineup. Throughout all stages of the design process, Barbie and NDSS worked together to ensure the Black Barbie doll with Down syndrome accurately reflected and resonated with members of the Down syndrome community. NDSS connected Barbie with a focus group of Black individuals from the Down syndrome community, including a young Black woman with Down syndrome, to review the doll’s sculpt, hair, fashion and glasses: o Sculpt: Barbie collaborated with the NDSS to accurately represent physical characteristics of people with Down syndrome including a shorter frame, longer torso and low muscle tone. Additionally, the doll’s palms include a single line, a characteristic often associated with those with Down syndrome. Special care was put into the face sculpt, featuring a rounder shape, smaller ears, and a flat nasal bridge. The eyes are slightly slanted in an almond shape while white dots can be seen in the iris. Hair: The doll has a braided hair texture which was one of the key features asked from the Black Down syndrome community. Fashion: Symbols are incorporated throughout the doll’s outfit, and the blue and yellow color palette represents Down syndrome awareness. The three arrows in some of the hearts on the dress, represent the third 21st chromosome that individuals with Down syndrome have. Glasses: The doll also wears pink eyeglasses, representing individuals with Down syndrome who often experience difficulties with their vision. "NDSS is thrilled to introduce a second Barbie doll with Down syndrome. Having this doll launched alongside the new Barbie doll with Blindness marks another important step in expanding representation for the disability community,” said Kandi Pickard, President and CEO, NDSS. “We are proud to partner with Barbie as they grow to reflect our diverse and beautiful world." “We are delighted to introduce these dolls in partnership with the American Foundation for the Blind and National Down Syndrome Society to further our mission for every young girl to feel represented and celebrated through Barbie.” Berger continued. Doll play has proven to help develop empathy and social processing skills among children, fueling social skills needed to excel in their futures as they imagine they can be anything. As the brand's most diverse doll line, the Barbie Fashionistas series offers more than 175+ looks in a variety of skin tones, eye colors, hair colors and textures, body types, disabilities and fashions. This includes dolls with vitiligo, dolls that use a wheelchair or a prosthetic limb, a doll with hearing aids and a doll without hair. The 2024 Fashionistas dolls aim to advance Barbie’s continued goal of reflecting a multi-dimensional view of beauty and fashion, allowing more children to see their world reflected through play. The 2024 Fashionistas dolls, including the blind Barbie doll and Black Barbie doll with Down syndrome, will be available at Simon's Collectibles soon. To celebrate this launch, Barbie is also collaborating with accessible fashion brand Aille Design (pronounced: eye) on a Barbie-inspired collection, featuring pieces with fully legible braille beadwork. Details include Barbie’s original black and white chevron pattern on a slip dress, a black neck scarf and a classic t-shirt in a hue of iconic Barbie pink, each featuring Aille Design’s signature braille beadwork made with Swarovski® pearls.

Mattel announced today its kickoff to celebrate the 65th anniversary of Barbie and over six decades of breaking down boundaries and inspiring girls through storytelling, encouraging them to be confident, daring, brave and legendary. 

Mattel have announced today an expansion of the Barbie™ the Movie product collection inspired by the BARBIE™ film created in partnership with Warner Bros. Pictures.

New line features over half a dozen iconic Barbie® and Ken® looks inspired by the hugely anticipated feature film coming to theaters only July 21st

Mattel, in partnership with Warner Bros. Pictures, has debuted today the latest teaser of the Barbie movie along with the launch of 24 brand-new character posters, the film’s teaser poster, a Barbie selfie generator and TikTok lens extension, and an official Twitter emoji.

Barbie, the iconic doll created by Mattel, is celebrating a milestone in 2023 - her 64th birthday! She's been a cultural icon since she first hit store shelves in 1959, and she still has that classic style and charm that has made her so popular for generations. To celebrate her 64th birthday, we'll be taking a look back at all of Barbie's accomplishments, as well as looking ahead to the exciting things Mattel has in store for Barbie in the future.

The highly anticipated teaser trailer for #BarbieTheMovie is here. From director Greta Gerwig, coming Summer 2023.

Today, Barbie doll with a behind-the-ear hearing aid, Ken doll with vitiligo, a new Fashionista doll with prosthetic leg and a wheelchair Barbie doll go on sale across the UK.

Mattel has announced that Barbie and a team of neuroscientists at Cardiff University have released the latest findings from a multi-year study exploring the short and long-term developmental impacts of doll play.

It was the year 1962 and Barbie was finally getting her very own Dream House, years before women were allowed to own their own homes. 

Mattel has announced that Barbie has been named as the 2021 top global toy property of the year for the second consecutive year by global information company The NPD Group. According to data gathered by NPD, Mattel’s Hot Wheels Singles 1/64 Assortment was the 2021 global top-selling toy of the year, while Fisher-Price was ranked as the number-five global toy property in 2021. Mattel had the most top 10 global properties of any manufacturer in 2021, and was the number-one toy company globally in the fourth quarter. The company was recognised with 18 top NPD rankings globally, and Mattel was also ranked as the number-one manufacturer in the U.S. for the 28th consecutive year. “Last year we introduced our Mattel Playbook, powered by brand purpose, design-led innovation, cultural relevance and executional excellence. Our performance under this unique brand-building approach is clear across these extraordinary rankings,” says Richard Dickson, President and COO, Mattel. “Barbie’s brand purpose to inspire the limitless potential in every girl is resonating more than ever, as evidenced by this top global ranking for the second year in a row. At the same time, Hot Wheels’ performance shows it continues to ignite the challenger spirit on which the brand was founded more than 50 years ago. “Most importantly, these awards are further proof of the enduring strength of our mission to create innovative products and experiences that inspire, entertain and develop children through play.” Steve Totzke, EVP and Chief Commercial Officer, Mattel, adds: “These NPD results speak for themselves and demonstrate the performance at all levels of our global team and in support of Mattel’s transformation to an IP-driven, high-performing toy company. We couldn’t be prouder.”

The Barbie Day to Night Dreamhouse, Mattel and Smyths triumph at the highly anticipated annual Toy Industry Awards.

We sent the popular YouTuber, Beauty Inside A Box, a Barbie Rewind doll to review, and here it is!