Beauty has a different meaning in this modern century and even a four year old child has an idea of what she thinks is beautiful. Sometimes, it even shows in the types of toys she plays with. The perfect shaped Barbie has now decided to change its perception of beauty in an effort to save the brand and possible change perceptions of children. Is that possible in a world where popular culture is manned by beauty icons that defines beauty in its magazine covers?
Kum Culmone, the head of design at Barbie asked one simple question to her team of designers.
"If you could start the brand over today and you didn't have any rules, you could do whatever you wanted, what would you do?"
In the end, the answers boiled down to diversity which meant a change in skin tone, hair color, and body size.
Gone is the Barbie known for her long blonde locks, toned and shapely body. Mattel has now shifted it's 1950's approach to the new century's aura of diversity. Though, the company has made some quite subtle changes to the doll through the years, nothing is as major as the introduction of the tall Barbie, petite Barbie and curvy Body.
Why did the long-standing company decide to change the doll? Mattel's branding expert, Jess Weiner, explains that some people have shared thoughts that the doll might be a bad role model for children because she represents an unrealistic body type.
What does the expansion of the dolls mean for Mattel and Barbie, now? "These new dolls represent a line that is more reflective of the world girls see around them - the variety in body type, skin tones and style allows girls to find a doll that speaks to them", says Evelyn Mazzocco, Senior VP and Global General Manager of Barbie.
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