Step into the Barbie Design Center, where timeless style meets cutting-edge creativity in the heart of Barbie’s ever-evolving world. This exclusive tour reveals the magic behind crafting the iconic doll, meticulously designing fashion sets, and styling the latest trends in Barbie’s Closet. Discover how a 65-year-old icon stays relevant through constant creative evolution, blending fashion-forward thinking with incredible attention to detail. Meet the talented designers who scale down denim, create custom high-end looks, and capture Barbie with the same care as a human model. From reimagining Barbie’s legacy to ensuring her looks remain forever stylish, this creative hub is where the ultimate ‘it girl’ stays at the forefront of both fashion and play.
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00:00This is more than just a doll, more than just a brand, it's a human.
00:03And you hit a Barbie Style image and you might mistake it for a person.
00:07This year, Barbie Style, this amazing Instagram account, turns 10 years old.
00:11So we're giving you an amazing behind-the-scenes store of our design center
00:15where we make a lot of our dolls, fashions, photo space, and...
00:19The Barbie closet.
00:20Which is incredible. I can't wait to show it to you.
00:24Barbie's a doll, a brand that needs to be both timely and timeless,
00:28but the real key is constant creative evolution.
00:32You know, at the time we had our At Barbie channel, which is our main brand hub.
00:36We wanted to step away from that a little bit.
00:38We were like, we just, we need a fashion space.
00:41We need somewhere where all the, like, cool fashion girlies would go.
00:45My mind was blown about the possibilities of creative expression.
00:49When I started working here in my mid-20s,
00:52I don't know how I think dolls were created.
00:54Like, I never thought about the designers of the brand.
00:58This is Lizette.
00:59We are always collaborating and making tiny Barbie clothes together.
01:03I'll work on a design.
01:04I'll kind of assess what we need in the closet.
01:06Maybe something's trending.
01:08Maybe we need new pieces for summer.
01:09I'll mock up some designs,
01:11and they'll figure out the best way to tackle them in Barbie scale.
01:15We have to really think about the scale of the prints.
01:19Yeah, so if we're making a pinstripe shirt for Barbie,
01:21if you were to go source pinstripe fabric for human,
01:24you know, it would be quite large scale for Barbie.
01:27Denim is a particular challenge in Barbie scale,
01:30because it's often, you know, quite thick.
01:32Like, if you were to take the denim from my skirt
01:34and fabricate a pair of jeans for Barbie,
01:37they'd be quite stiff and thick.
01:39They've done a great job of sourcing denim that's nice and thin,
01:42so it bends with the doll.
01:44It feels natural in the scale.
01:45Baby clothes.
01:46Yeah.
01:47Baby clothes.
01:47Baby jeans.
01:48When you guys are working with a toy designer,
01:51you're working on things that are going to be produced
01:53a year and a half from now, two years from now,
01:56and that's very different from Barbie style,
01:58where we're just creating one-of-a-kind pieces.
02:01It's fun because we get to do these things
02:03that we wouldn't normally be able to execute,
02:06where we're like, hey, let's give Barbie a real zipper.
02:08Like, let's give her real pockets.
02:10And everyone's just like, are you sure we can add a pocket?
02:12I'm like, yes, go for it.
02:14Do it.
02:14These are a great example of some pieces we've made
02:17for Barbie style with the Softgoods team.
02:19This amazing pink pleather jacket,
02:21a functional zipper, a little pocket, a great collar.
02:25This piece is incredible.
02:26It's kind of a modern take on a trench.
02:29Arm detailing, the shoulder detailing, the buttons.
02:32You wouldn't think about it,
02:33but you need special thin needles
02:35to fit through the tiny buttonholes.
02:38People are always like, oh, do you have,
02:39do you just work on tiny sewing machines?
02:41It's like, no, we have like the full industrial
02:43movie sewing machines.
02:45These denim cargo pants,
02:47functional side pockets,
02:49functional hip pockets.
02:51This Hill House nap dress is a great example, too,
02:53of all the details we can add into a piece.
02:56We had to take their original pattern,
02:58scale it down to Barbie size,
02:59one-sixth scale,
03:00print it out, and work that way.
03:02We've added ruching here at the bodice,
03:05the tiered skirt,
03:06and the ruched beautiful sleeves.
03:08I think from day one,
03:09it was really important to step out
03:11of the brand box a little bit.
03:13A lot of things we had to sort of creatively do
03:15were very outside of the norm
03:17of what Mattel was doing at the time.
03:19There was just this like sort of layer of
03:21like realism that I knew
03:22people were like resonating with.
03:24This is Sasha,
03:26our key lead face designer.
03:28We'll make a lot of custom heads for the channel,
03:30so we use a combination of production heads
03:32and custom.
03:33Basically, it's the same materials
03:35as other artists use.
03:37Regular water-based acrylics,
03:39tiny brushes,
03:40water-color brushes.
03:41I start some sketching on the face
03:44and then building little by little.
03:47My favorite part,
03:48it's final touches.
03:49This is the moment
03:50when the face comes to life.
03:52Not at all,
03:53but the person.
03:54Sasha's currently working
03:55on a really amazing project with us
03:57where we're taking some of our key hero characters
03:59and we're giving them
04:01a sort of Barbie-style elevation.
04:03A little more detail in the face,
04:05eyes a little more narrow,
04:06a little bit more of an elevated look.
04:09And then there's, of course, exceptions.
04:10Quite a few years ago,
04:11we worked with Pat McGrath.
04:12Definitely a departure for Barbie,
04:14but it was incredible to see
04:15our amazing artist take her direction
04:17and really translate it in Barbie's scale.
04:19We actually introduced
04:20the specific face paint
04:22and face sculpt combo on Barbie's style
04:24while we were visiting London recently.
04:26It was wild seeing people
04:28pick up on it instantly.
04:29I mean, instantly.
04:31I hope you read the comments.
04:32It's really incredible.
04:33You know, Barbie-style
04:34is a fashion-forward account.
04:35This new Brooklyn head
04:36that everyone's loving.
04:37She has these incredible
04:39large box braids.
04:40We're thinking about
04:41how many braids go on the head,
04:43how will they lay.
04:44When I'm styling the head,
04:45once it's completed
04:46and we're draping the hair,
04:47draping the clothes,
04:49it's all a cohesive process.
04:51Aki and I work together all the time
04:52on custom heads for Barbie-style.
04:54She's truly an incredible hair artist.
04:57So we worked on
04:58this new custom Brooklyn.
04:59It was something that
05:00we can't do in production,
05:02Barbie-style.
05:03We can pretty much
05:04do anything we like.
05:06And today, Aki is going to be
05:07rooting ahead for us
05:08that's in the same Brooklyn face sculpt,
05:11but it's a slightly new hairstyle.
05:12Just go around the crown
05:19and just fill it out.
05:26So that is Brooklyn, freshly rooted.
05:30Every morning I want my hair
05:31put on like this.
05:35Every toy that we make
05:37that's associated with dolls
05:38at Mattel
05:39is under my scope
05:41of responsibility.
05:42The parts of my team
05:43that work on Barbie-style
05:45specifically are making sure
05:47that she shows up
05:48at her best.
05:48Rachel's a great example.
05:50She has such incredible style.
05:51I love when I see her
05:52infuse something that's like
05:53so deeply part of like
05:55sort of like her visual
05:57and like the way she
05:58presents herself to the world
05:59into Barbie
06:00and it's just like,
06:00oh, it's lovely.
06:01Welcome to Barbie's closet.
06:03This is my working space
06:05when I'm styling
06:06all of Barbie's clothes.
06:07We have our infamous head cabinet
06:10where we keep
06:11all of our character heads.
06:12This is Barbie's
06:13accessory cabinet.
06:15We have Barbie hats,
06:16towels, and robes.
06:18I love a little Barbie sock.
06:20This is the Western bin.
06:22Then we have
06:23all our many shoe bins.
06:25Color coordinated, of course.
06:27The biggest bin
06:28is the pink bin.
06:29Lots and lots of purses.
06:31Barbie has an amazing
06:32handbag collection.
06:34She does.
06:34Some of her closet
06:35is from current production.
06:37A lot of it is custom made
06:38by our fabricators
06:39that we spoke to earlier.
06:40And then a big portion of it
06:42is vintage Barbie wardrobe.
06:43Like the details
06:44are really incredible.
06:45This is from 19...
06:4670, 71.
06:4770, 71.
06:48What I love about
06:49especially like vintage pieces
06:50is like all the
06:50incredible piece count.
06:52Like it's just such
06:52a full ensemble.
06:54I just got this set
06:55Barbie convention.
06:57The bouncy flouncy.
06:58When there's a rare item
07:00that I can't just source
07:01to have in the closet
07:02permanently,
07:03I can go to archive and say,
07:04hey, do you have this?
07:05I need it for a shoot.
07:06I'll borrow those items
07:07and I return them back
07:08in the condition
07:09that I found them, of course.
07:10In addition to that,
07:11I'll go source my own
07:13so that I can have the pieces
07:14in the closet
07:15and I can alter them
07:17if need be.
07:18The base of this coat
07:19was a custom design
07:21from our soft goods team.
07:23It originally had a hood.
07:24I cut the hood
07:26and then I found
07:27a vintage Barbie set
07:29from I believe
07:30the mid-2000s.
07:31Maybe vintage
07:32is the wrong term.
07:33Cut it up,
07:34assembled it.
07:35Makes it a fun
07:35new little piece.
07:36I never get tired
07:37of dressing Barbie
07:38because there's so many
07:38opportunities for play there.
07:40You'd all see something
07:41someone's wearing
07:42and get inspired
07:43or I'll pull from
07:44tear sheets in Vogue runway.
07:46These dolls
07:47I'm styling for TikTok
07:48right now.
07:49They're going to a coffee shop
07:50in this look.
07:51they're going to go
07:52to the movies
07:53in this look
07:54and in this look
07:55Malibu is struggling
07:57to get a parking ticket
07:59out of a parking garage
08:00because we're doing
08:00this fun concept
08:01where she's like talking.
08:06At the time
08:07Instagram was new.
08:09We were following
08:10at Barbie
08:10and it was all focused
08:12to parents or kids
08:14and it was very
08:14toy centric.
08:16I wanted another thing
08:17on Instagram
08:17from Barbie myself.
08:19We needed a brand new
08:20sort of space
08:21that we could bring
08:22fashion partners
08:23into a space
08:24that truly felt
08:25fashion forward.
08:27We saw a connection
08:28and Barbie is like
08:29the ultimate it girl.
08:30Of course she's going
08:31to partner with
08:32different brands
08:33different personalities
08:34from across the world.
08:35The diversity
08:36is a really important
08:37message for Barbie
08:38so we did that
08:39with body shape selection
08:40and hair texture selection
08:42and ethnicities.
08:43It's just normal Barbie life.
08:45It's diverse,
08:47it's different people,
08:48there's different ethnicities
08:49and that's the way life is
08:50and it's great like that.
08:51One of my favorite ones
08:52is the Beaumont partnership
08:53that we did.
08:54They were literally
08:55a dream to work with.
08:57This gorgeous bow outfit
08:59that you see here.
09:00We had the real one
09:01shipped to us
09:02and like just seeing
09:04the construction,
09:05feeling it
09:05and like bringing it
09:06to life.
09:07It was really,
09:07really special.
09:08They understood
09:09a lot of maybe
09:10some complications
09:11we may have
09:12because Barbie skill
09:13is very specific.
09:14Sometimes things may change
09:15when you go to
09:1611 and a half plastic figure.
09:17We would print on material
09:19that we know
09:19will replicate
09:20as closely as we can
09:21to their original.
09:23There's some fabrications
09:24that are just
09:24almost impossible to find
09:26because they're custom
09:27like this puffer jacket.
09:28I believe this was a sample
09:29that they actually sent
09:30because there's just
09:31no way that we could create it.
09:33There's something
09:33really incredible
09:34about seeing like a true
09:36sort of like mini version
09:38down to like
09:39every little sequin.
09:40Like I know sequins
09:41are problematic
09:41because of the scale
09:42but look how incredible
09:43she looks.
09:44It's also just incredible
09:45to see like someone
09:46like a Carlisle
09:46who's an incredible
09:47designer himself
09:48like thrive in that space.
09:50I always say
09:51when we're talking
09:52to partners
09:52and start to talk
09:53about what our process
09:54is like is that
09:55you can hand us a sketch
09:56or you can hand us an idea
09:57and we have a creative team
09:58that can like make it happen
10:00from start to finish
10:01or you can get in there
10:03with us like set up
10:03an office in our building.
10:05Those are the partnerships
10:06that really lead
10:07to phenomenal things.
10:09What you see here
10:10is Moschino's
10:11capsule collection
10:12basically dedicated
10:13to Barbie.
10:14Jeremy has always
10:15been a friend
10:15of the brand
10:16and like he just
10:16gets Barbie.
10:18He just gets it,
10:19you know?
10:19And like when we did
10:20this capsule collection
10:21with him like
10:22it's probably one
10:22of my favorite
10:23collections of all time.
10:24I mean even
10:24for this collection
10:25we shot Barbie's style
10:26in Milan at the time
10:28it was like right
10:29before the show
10:29so we were like
10:30able to spend
10:31a couple of days
10:31with Jeremy
10:32and his team
10:33in the atelier
10:33like seeing these dolls
10:35seeing the like
10:36the human scale
10:37items
10:37I remember thinking
10:38like what
10:38like what are we doing
10:40right now?
10:40This is incredible.
10:41People often
10:43sort of a question
10:44it's like
10:44do you guys
10:45photoshopper
10:45and do you
10:45like how do you
10:46do this?
10:47In studio
10:47it's on a set
10:48that's built out
10:49so it's a practical set
10:50if we're on location
10:51we're actually
10:52shooting on location
10:54which is like
10:54no different
10:55than any other
10:55sort of like
10:56fashion shoot
10:57fashion editorial.
10:58We really want
10:59to take you
10:59into the studio
11:00for a little
11:01behind the scenes
11:01look of our
11:02photo shoot.
11:03It's incredible.
11:05Get ready.
11:05It's a little bit
11:09of our 10 year
11:10celebration
11:10we got the whole
11:11crew together
11:12in this incredible
11:13dream house structure
11:14you shoot Barbie
11:15do you think of it
11:16as like product
11:17do you think of it
11:17as a person?
11:18She is a person
11:19she's a human to me
11:20I do come from
11:21a fashion photography
11:22background
11:22my approach to
11:23working with Barbie
11:24is the same
11:25as a human model
11:26she's a lot more
11:26demanding
11:27she's a lot
11:28more demanding
11:29she follows direction
11:30though
11:30she's in a house
11:31so we have kind of
11:32ceiling light coming
11:33top down
11:34you know
11:34that's kind of like
11:35my base
11:35we try and keep it
11:36looking as natural
11:37as possible
11:38something that you
11:39would see in
11:39somebody's normal
11:40home when they're
11:41there
11:41outside we do go
11:42with like some
11:42harder light
11:43to kind of
11:44mimic the sun
11:45for shooting on
11:46location let's say
11:46like Barbie's
11:47at fashion week
11:48we want to make
11:48sure that image
11:49is live within
11:50an hour or two
11:50but for something
11:51like that
11:51like the setup
11:52obviously takes
11:53a while
11:53like setting this
11:54up took
11:54you know
11:55like a good
11:55at least half
11:56a day to a day
11:57how do you
11:58sort of tackle
11:59an editorial
11:59in Barbie's
12:00scale
12:00and do you
12:01have a favorite
12:02one
12:02I do have
12:03a favorite one
12:04it is Barbie
12:05alone in a
12:06black leather
12:08vest with a
12:09big zipper
12:09she's just
12:10leaning back
12:11like she has
12:11no care in
12:12the world
12:12and she just
12:13looks so
12:14beautiful in
12:15that shot
12:15and truly I
12:16remember like
12:16the door was
12:16open and at
12:17one point
12:18people kept
12:19walking by
12:20and were kind
12:20of peeking
12:21like oh my
12:21god like
12:22I thought that
12:22was a real
12:23person
12:23I was given
12:25the task of
12:26designing a
12:27home for
12:28the woman
12:29conversations
12:30went into it
12:30of okay do we
12:31design this
12:32multi-million dollar
12:33home do we
12:34make it still
12:35attainable for
12:36every person
12:38we landed on
12:39mid-century
12:40modern but then
12:40keeping it to
12:42just the three
12:42rooms the hard
12:43part was figuring
12:44out scale
12:45obviously we're
12:46working on a
12:47weird scale not
12:47appropriate for
12:48human like the
12:49door heights are a
12:50lot a lot more
12:51stretched
12:51some of the
12:52furniture and
12:53pieces are sourced
12:54by Rachel but
12:55like majority of
12:56it like the bed
12:57the benches the
12:57couches are all
12:59fabricated here
13:00using fabric that
13:02performs in scale
13:03that's a delicate
13:04balance that we
13:04have to work with
13:05all of the walls
13:06themselves are
13:07four ply so
13:09that we can shift
13:10out and take out
13:12one wall painted a
13:13different color
13:13add a wallpaper
13:14there's a textured
13:15wall in the
13:16kitchen
13:16one of our other
13:17favorite features of
13:19the dream house is
13:20the functioning pool
13:21in the backyard
13:21we have this
13:22modular on two
13:24different tabletops
13:25the tub itself is
13:26also supported under
13:28the structure not
13:29just up support but
13:30sideways support
13:31because water will
13:32push out a lot of
13:33of engineering went
13:35into that one as
13:36well as paint we
13:36need to figure out
13:37what kind of paint
13:38holds up under
13:38water how do you
13:39give the color on
13:41the bottom of the
13:41pool what you need
13:42that doesn't cast a
13:43blue hue onto her
13:45face this particular
13:47project from start to
13:48finish was a number
13:49of months the roof
13:50actually holds the
13:51structure together so
13:52we had to build from
13:53the top down which is
13:54a very new process for
13:56our model shop it was
13:57a lot of fun
13:58what's really kind of
14:01incredible about
14:02barbie style and
14:03what's always set it
14:03apart is just this
14:04attention to detail we
14:06always always go back
14:07to detail the dolls
14:09makeup the color of
14:10the eyes hair
14:11textures the fashions
14:12we kind of led with
14:13that our whole mission
14:15is to leave the brand
14:16better than we found
14:17it and I definitely
14:18feel like at barbie
14:19style as a
14:20contribution to the
14:21brand leaves it
14:23better than it was
14:24before
14:24so