Barbie's new shapes to boost sales?
Barbie may now look a bit more like the rest of us, curves and all.
Mattel, the maker of Barbie, announced Thursday the iconic doll will now come in three new body types and a variety of skin tones and hairstyles. This is the first time the doll will be available in body types beyond its original stick-thin frame.
Mattel has been
putting Barbie through a transformation for the past two years to bring
the doll in line with realistic body standards and reflect the diversity
of the kids playing with the dolls.
Last year Mattel introduced 23 new dolls with different skin tones, hairstyles, outfits and flat feet, rather than the perpetually pointy ones meant to fit into sky-high heels.
This is not the first time Mattel has released Barbies with different looks, although the body types are new.
In 1980, Mattel marketed Black Barbie, who had an afro-style hair-do.
Mattel's failure to change Barbie's body size had drawn a lot of criticism, but the company long defended the design.
"Barbie's body was never designed to be realistic. She was designed for girls to easily dress and undress," Kimberly Culmone, vice president of Barbie Global Creative, explained in 2014 in an interview with the website Fast Company.
Will the 56-year-old legacy live on? Will the new Barbies boost sales?