Last year, Mattel unveiled The Barbie Fashionista line which offered more diversity in the dolls including skin color and body shape. At the time, Mattel did not hide the fact that the long overdue revamp was – at least partially – monetarily driven due to declining sales. The was a spike in profit after the new line hit the market but unfortunately, since then, the sales have fallen quite short of expectations. However, Mattel is still committed to their new campaign and now we are getting Next Gen Ken.
Today, Barbie announced the expansion of its Fashionistas line by introducing 15 new Ken dolls. The new Kens have three body types — slim, broad and original. In addition, the dolls will feature seven skin tones, eight hair colors, nine hairstyles and chic, modern fashion looks unlike any other Ken dolls you’ve seen before.
“By continuing to expand our product line, we are redefining what a Barbie or Ken doll looks like to this generation,” said Lisa McKnight, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Barbie. “Evolving Ken was a natural evolution for the brand and allows girls to further personalize the role they want him to play in Barbie’s world.”
Ken’s style has come quite a long way since he was first introduced to the world in 1961.
The original Ken doll was dressed quite skimpy, sporting only his tiny lifeguard suit, towel and sandals. Over the decades, he has evolved — including Totally Hair Ken in the ’90s — but this is the biggest range of Ken types the brand has ever released.
And every iteration of dream Kens are included, whether it’s a surfer boy with a man bun or plaid-loving college bro.
They say Ken will have three new body types but I’m having a hard time seeing the changes. I guess there is a slight difference in those shapes above – but I need my reading glasses to see them. Get back to me when Dad-bod Ken shows up and takes out the trash – then my dream Ken has arrived. The heart of this is headed the right way, though. Putting diversity on the shelf is important. And I must give Mattel credit – they are pushing forward even after the numbers didn’t back up the campaign.
Even though the sales haven’t caught up to the consciousness yet, The Barbie Fashionistas segment was named Doll of the Year by the Toy Industry Association’s TOTY Awards. In addition to the 15 new Ken dolls, they are adding 25 new Barbie dolls. In all, that’s 40 new dolls, seven body types, 11 skin tones and 28 hairstyles to further diversify the brand. Now that the new kids are here, the Fantasy, Entertainment and Career segments will be the next to add diversity.
As I said, it’s a step in the right direction and a huge leap from Ken’s early, tighty swim trunks days.
Photo credit: Mattel/Twitter and Getty Images
It’s cool that they are trying diversity not just for Barbie but for Ken.
If anyone follows BlackGirlNerds on twitter she was reposting the most hilarious tweets about these new Ken dolls. Made my day
Thanks for the recommentation. Looked it up and it was glorious.
elle.com had a great rundown on the various Kens as well.
All of those Ken boys have better eyebrows that I do. Cool, though, that the company still keeps trudging forward. One can always argue that even more effort should be made, but there’s a point where you just get tired of expecting change and never seeing it happen, so even baby steps make you happy.
1961 Ken’s chicken legs though 😀
We’d all have perfect eyebrows if we just painted them on like dolls do!
I have trichotillomania. One day I might just have to do that. Then I will have those perfectly sculpted, painted on Ken doll eyebrows too.
Shiljel, I can so relate…I seem to have developed it in my late 40s. I was doing so well for a few months but just had a relapse and am embarrassed to be seen in public right now.
Don’t be embarrassed to be in public. I don’t pull my hair, but lots of it has fallen out over the years because of medicines. That started 11 years ago in my late 20’s
Seriously….Ken dolls with a Man-bun…definitely not cool.
My daughter has a couple of these dolls and while I appreciate the different body shapes and skin tones, they seem to be cheaper made dolls. Some of the original and less expensive barbie dolls were definitely better made IMO
lol. When I saw Ken with the man bun, I actually rolled my eyes.
Everything these days looks cheap. Maybe they were made from recycled materials
I can’t tell you how many times a kid has said to me, “You know what this Ken needs? A man bun.”
Get over yourself Ken. You’re not a doll or an action figure. You’re an accessory. That’s right: Barbie’s accessory.
You made my day!
Man-bun Ken is missing his tatts, js. And they should have given him ear plugs as well.
I’m curious if the same clothes fit all the dolls or if you have to buy outfits for that specific doll’s body type?
That one Ken’s man-bun is killing me. Love it. 😂
But what is that thing in he package? Preppy Ken with no racquet ball muscles? He should be a hipster with ultra skinny black jeans etc.
Exactly. Jorts don’t go with a man-bun. Someone dropped the ball on this one. Jorts belong on Dad-Bod Ken.
This is so awesome!!
I’m not a fan of any of the new Ken dolls, but the Barbie with the Afro is awesome and I definitely would have wanted her if I was a kid. I’m not a big fan of how Barbie’s body looks now. Her legs look weird, almost like they would bend. Definitely different from when I was a kid in the 80s and 90s.
How do you mean, bend?
I like Barbie’s legs. They look like they have shape, a reasonable proportion, and definitely look closer to human legs than the mile high rubber poles my late 90s Barbie stood on.
I think they look more willowy and fragile. I’m more referring to the thin Barbies. My childhood Barbies had thicker knees for sure. The proportions look very odd to me.
@ Anon ah, I see. You’re right. I still like their shape a bit, but they really do look very thin and very fragile. Noodly, if you will.
I love the new updated Ken Dolls. They are so cute. I want the one with a man bun. Am I to old for wanting a doll lol?
Do kids still play with dolls?
Not that I see. Most kids (even young ones ) don’t put down their phones or are always playing on their computers all day
From the kids I interract with, theres a trend to more unisex toys more now. The legos, play doughs, musical instruments and game apps like Elmo. I dont think I have seen a child with a doll in years. Stuffed animals and super hero action figures sure but definitely not in the Barbie zone. And personally, I think thats a good thing. Ken and Barbie are going out of business sooner or later.
I think that’s the exact reason Mattel did this switch up. They think this will get kids interested in dolls again. I doubt this will work. Kids want technology, which isn’t a bad thing.
My girls play with babies and barbies and Disney princess dolls (among many other things). So does every kid I know from moms club to school to the neighborhood etc.
Menutia
That’s really sad. Thankfully, none of the mums in my circle are Barbie mums.
My four girls play with Barbies, despite my initial resistance. They got some as gifts and spent hours playing with them, so I gave in. I did the same with my sister growing up, and most of the fun involved hair, outfits and accessories, not idolizing Barbie herself. They also collect Americans Girl dolls for similar reasons. Although, I’ll admit they favor dolls that look like themselves (white/blonde), even though I have purchased a variety of diverse dolls from each collection. (At least I’m trying??)
We have plenty of conversations about loving our bodies and unrealistic physical/material expectations, as portrayed by dolls or the Disney Channel. I think limiting choice to only wooden/unisex toys after a certain age is both unrealistic and sometimes counterproductive. I know which friends have only Waldorf-approved toys, because they head straight to our dolls and sugary snacks. (And we only have small amounts of either at our house.)
why don’t the Kens have the synthetic fiber hair? they’re just plastic molds aren’t there?
how is manbun Ken going to let his hair down when he’s netflix and chilling with Bob?
I was thinking the same thing. Why did they choose plastic hair for the new generation?!
Man Bun Ken also seems to be wearing eyeliner.
The man bun cracks me up for some reason.
I thought man bun Ken was a girl until I saw his clothes. That one is hilarious. Good to change the look of these dolls,but come on. A man bun?!
I think the different skin tones & hair types was a good change, but the different sizes throws me a bit. I guess because, even though I was a chubby child, I never once compared myself to Barbie, because she was just a doll? But if some kids somewhere feel better having a Barbie that is not the typical Barbie size then more power to Mattel for recognizing that. My only other question would be, do the other sized Barbies get as many clothes as regular sized Barbie? Or at least get a variety of options? Because that seems depressing to not be able to find your Barbie clothes because they are all made to fit a regular Barbie.
There are clothes for all four of the new body shapes of Barbie. Some specifically for each shape, some one size fits all.
For whatever reason, I love man bun Ken. There’s also a Ken with cornrows coming too. I want all of them. Signed, 36 and still plays with Barbie.
Ha! They have done a different body type before that I’ll bet they would like to forget. In the late 1970’s they had a Barbie with an unusual feature…rotate her right arm forward and her chest got bigger, rotate it backwards and it went back to normal-Barbie. I think that doll went out of production pretty quickly.
As for the new Kens and Barbies, I think the body shapes and skin tones are great, but the man bun with the eyeliner and manicured eyebrows is a killer. Would he really be interested in dating Barbie?
My neighbor had that “developing” doll but I’m pretty sure it was Skipper. She also had a Cher doll and you could twist her scalp around to switch her hair color from black to white! Lol
As Kendis Gibson (of ABC’s World News Now) who is gay, said they look like the guys standing in line outside The Abbey (A gay club in West Hollywood ) on Sunday Night.😂😂
The one with the man bun it kinda looks like leah michelle.
Ken was sooo Basic that a change was needed but now New-New Ken is either a F*ckboy (haircut based) or a Hipster (based on Clothes) … I want one of each, obv!, My ex tagged me feverishly on this at 3 am cause he had to get me like 2 barbies prior and he knows how utterly sick I was about to be about my little Sis with the glorious Afro up there^^^ ( I advised him he started paying Ken’s wardrobe mind, cause It’s LIT!) I don’t even know why I need these so bad but I Love love love love barbies like no other, i follow a gazillion glam pages, snarky pages, I love to play with them still ( if only my nieces GaF about Barbies *eyeroll) and dead ass me and my sister played ELABORATE set up barbie story time ( Think a trashy Telenovela sort ) until we were a smooth 14-15 y.o
I wasn’t poor growing up but Barbie clothes were something my parents thought was “extra” so I pretty much had the outfit she came with, and then a bunch of fabric scraps so she was always wearing strapless dresses. Years later (like I was 30) and my mother felt guilty and gave me a Costco sized box of the most glorious Barbie gowns and 2 Barbie dolls. She and I sat there and dressed and redressed Barbies over a few glasses of wine.
Girl My eyes got so so big of happiness for you! I cannot IMAGINE! Mine could get maybe an extra Outfit BUT my ma was a Seamstress all through her youth so she’d sew them little outfits with our own Outfit scraps AND also we did a Lot of ” astronaut Barbie”/Gala Gowns with Aluminum Foil!! LMMFAO
Ha! I wish I had thought of aluminum foil-lololol.
CynicalAnn, this is so cute.
I went through boxes and boxes of Kleenex at my house making Barbie ballgowns, each one fluffier than the last. I never thought of aluminum foil; that’s ingenuity! I think my four year-old might need a Barbie or two. She’ll just strip them naked and cut all of their hair off, but the nostalgia factor will be great. I love the visual of mom and daughter going through a box of Barbie clothes and a bottle of wine…sounds like a helluva night. 🙂
You’re both invited to my house.
My cousins and I, specifically one of my cousins, were a couple of little virgin sex fiends, circa 1990-1991. One of my other cousins had passed along her NKOTB dolls to my sister, which was nice because at that time, I had one Ken to about probably seven ish Barbies. I’m not into blondes, but Jon Knight, however… My pervo cousin introduced me to making the dolls hump. I introduced her to making privates for them out of modeling clay. I made Skipper some clay cigarettes once, bc she was going through a phase 😂 so glad my parents never seemed to catch on to our grown ass antics. And even at 19, my bff and I would still walk from our job at McDonald’s to my aunt’s apartment, and play Barbies with my little cousins. Which thankfully didn’t involve bumping smooths (or,uh,clays?) They had the cool 70s dreamhouse, too. To be 19 again, eating a stolen McFlurry from work and redecorating the dreamhouse with my little cousins and my friend. *sigh*
This. is. Giving.me. ALL. My.LIFE!!! we used to use my Bro’s G.I Joes as sons OR Rambo to add to the Bfs ( he was massive and Oh.Sh*t. if i didn’t just Understand my Muscley guys in bed sometimey thing!!!!!) Also WHY WE NEVER THOUGHT OF CLAY!!?!? OMG Im dead.. well my Sister was sweet so she played nice but my girls would be in Intensive care ( bread ties, purple marker, taped thimble to the face?) everywhere just everywhere) after running off a cliff in dramatic fashion from running off her bf’s apt after finding him with another chick and such
I’m dying of laughter. I spit my coffee out on my monitor.
@QQ, I didn’t just cackle so loudly that I startled my dog. Nope, wasn’t me. 😂 but did they roll seven deep in a pink plastic Corvette? Because my dolls didn’t understand birth control, and one of our aunts sent along all her strawberry shortcake dolls. Our Barbies had the most delightfully scented herd of children. Stuffed into the back of said Corvette. And now I’m realizing, plastic ICU is what we were truly missing!
Scented.Herd.of. Children is taking me down… Wear nice dresses at mmy funeral Pls
LOL I remember my friend and I would make our barbies have sex but we didn’t actually understand how it worked so we made Barbie and Ken “scissor” their legs so their heads were both opposite from one another. Then my mom would walk in and we would frantically shove the dolls under my bed embarrassed. I wonder if she knew what we were trying to simulate? It would have been better NOT to try and hide it and act all suspicious. Hahahaha!
This is all great, but we need to talk about Ken’s jorts…
A man-bun is never a good thing, even on a doll. Particularly when paired with jorts.