Mattel incubated the product line for 18 months before introducing the dolls in late 2019, and spent a good deal of that time conducting focus groups with more than 250 families, including cisgender kids, trans kids, and gender-fluid kids, according to Kim Culmone, SVP at Mattel Fashion Doll Design. Expressing myself through fashion was my first gateway into wanting to pursue a creative path in life. The articulation on the dolls is impressive as they have movement at the head, shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee, and ankle. Being able to see the impact Creatable World has brought, the smile it brings to people, and how much kids love playing with their dolls, has been so rewarding and humbling.

This was one of the dolls I wanted to get; as in one of my fanfictions, one of my characters looks a lot like this doll. All these companies have reported eventual sales bumps after staking their claim in the culture wars. Deep-ingrained societal gender signifiers such as color and hairstyle were particularly challenging. They're definitely not quite in scale, but Lena's head looks to be a bit on the smaller side, so they might look better with a larger-headed Barbie, or one of the Disney dolls perhaps.Even a toddler would be able to discern the messaging on how a woman and a man are expected to look from these images. There are Mattel dolls with different body types, heights, skin tones, and dolls with wheelchairs and prosthetics.

Parker, Rio, Aster, and especially Riley are delightful little dolls with well-made and creative accessory sets that will keep kids playing and dreaming. I think being a company today, you have to have a combination of social justice along with commerce, and that balance can be tricky,” Dickson says. The characters are already created, the clothing is specific, and it is hard to make clothes for the females.With the conception of Creatable World, we looked at white space in the toy market and compared it with a consumer base that hadn’t been served through the toys we make.

I guess it would be hard to go back to normal articulation right after having witnessed what is possible with the amazing Looks dolls! That last picture was taken at the very end of the review, after I'd played with Riley and all of their accessories for many days. The wig (with the peg cut out) fits over Finley's head nicely, but doesn't cover all of the underlying hair. The company has taken steps to address this, such as releasing a hijab-wearing Barbie and introducing different body types. I can't speak for other children, of course, but as a kid, I always preferred a doll who was distinctly a princess, or hero, or spy, or something of the like.A classic bouffanted version of Barbie in a black-and-white bathing suit and heels squints down at visitors.