Barbie and Ken beginning to look a lot more like you

For 2020, Mattel’s new Fashionistas line shows diversity is more beautiful than ever.

If you’re a little girl with a prosthetic limb, alopecia or the skin condition vitiligo, there’s now a Barbie doll that looks just like you.

The 2020 additions to Mattel’s Barbie Fashionistas line are the company’s latest nod to making sure its dolls reflect more of society’s diversity.

While a doll with a prosthetic limb made its debut last year, this year’s version will have a darker complexion. Another new addition has no hair. And even Ken has gotten an updated look, sporting long locks instead of his signature, short, sculpted coif.

“We’ve been committed to increasing diversity in our line and showcasing all the different types of beauty that exist ... making the line more accessible,” says Lisa McKnight, senior vice president and global head of Barbie and its dolls portfolio.

More inclusiveness in the toy aisle

Barbie once criticized by some observers for promoting a narrow, unrealistic ideal of what is beautiful. But the brand has been on a diversity push over the last five years, unveiling dolls with an array of skin tones, hair textures, body sizes and facial structures.

There are Barbies with less defined waists, varying bust sizes and sculpted arms. And the doll in a wheelchair even has her own ramp.

Barbie’s focus on a more expansive idea of beauty reflects a broader shift that is impacting not only the toy industry but the worlds of fashion and politics as well.

Model Winnie Harlow, who has vitiligo, has used her celebrity to talk about the autoimmune disorder that leads to a loss of skin color. Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley revealed recently that she lost her hair due to the skin condition alopecia.

A slew of brands have featured people not typically seen in advertising, from Lucas Warren, who in 2018 became the first Gerber baby with Down syndrome, to Diandra Forrest, who has albinism and modeled for cosmetics company Wet ‘ n Wild.

MATTEL The new Barbie line features dolls with prosthetic limbs and alopecia.