She’s still not sporting any latex accessories, but the 2016 Barbie, as just announced from its maker Mattel, certainly is seeing some interesting modernizing. And it’s not so much the cars, planes or even the fantasy wardrobe the doll is getting anew, as it is options in body types that makes this year’s plastic lady so interesting.
If one isn’t a collector (or doesn’t have kids) one might not have noticed the subtle changes Mattel has been attempting with their signature girl’s toy since 2013. Last year alone 23 new Barbies were born, featuring different skin tones, hairstyles, fashions, and in a change that certainly made the news at the time (at least for a few days) Barbie sported flat feet for the first time, sending a clear message that the days of this particular lady only ever wearing heels might just be gone. For 2016, it’s the body types offered in the doll collection that really mark a difference, as we see Barbie come in tall, petite and curvy.
This year marks the first ever that Mattel trots out a version of their doll that doesn’t see Barbie sporting her usual yet impossibly proportioned frame.
“We believe we have a responsibility to girls and parents to reflect a broader view of beauty,” Evelyn Mazzocco, senior vice president and global general manager of Barbie, said about these new dolls that will be on sale in stores in March (on sale online here now).
In addition to the body type options there will be 33 new Barbies presented this year, with seven different skin tones, twenty eye colors and two dozen different hairstyle and color options for the Barbie buyer/lover/collector to choose from. And though, as we mentioned above, there’s no catsuit or latex mask in her wardrobe possibilities (yet) Barbie’s clothes-as well now her changes in sizes and shapes-do seem to reflect society’s changing attitude towards body types.
It still remains to be seen what changes, if any, Ken might undergo.
