Mattel’s Barbie is celebrating Black History Month in the US and multiple generations of Black female designers, past, present and future – from the designer behind the first-ever Black Barbie doll to emerging designers making a name for themselves, to young girls considering a future career in fashion design.
Barbie is committed to encouraging more young Black girls to consider a career in fashion design through partnerships that help break down barriers, unlock opportunity and inspire the next generation.
Barbie is partnering with the Black in Fashion Council (BIFC), an organisation aiming to increase representation and secure the advancement of Black individuals in the fashion and beauty industry, to highlight and celebrate three emerging Black female designers who have broken barriers for women in fashion.
Barbie and BIFC engaged Blake Newby, digital content creator, TV personality and podcast host, to create a series of interviews with the designers, sharing their career journeys and advice for the next generation interested in pursuing design.
Through these conversations, each designer identified a barrier to entry to becoming a fashion designer. To help address these barriers for the next generation, Barbie and BIFC are creating custom programming geared toward kids, teens and young designers at the 2025 ENVSN Festival.
The designers featured included Larissa Muehleder, founder and creative director of luxury fashion brand Muehleder; Nia Thomas, who founded her fashion label in 2018 to redefine luxury fashion; and Fumi Egbon, who launched Fumi the Label in 2021, aiming to serve women who view fashion as a tool for self-expression and empowerment.
“As a brand that has proudly served as numerous fashion designers’ very first muse, Barbie is honored to continue to empower the next generation of fashion designers in partnership with Black in Fashion Council,” commented Krista Berger, svp of Barbie and global head of dolls at Mattel. “Through this collaboration, we’re not just celebrating creativity – we’re actively creating pathways for girls to pursue their fashion design dreams.”
In addition, this year Barbie is also celebrating the 45th anniversary of the first Black Barbie doll, designed by trailblazer Kitty Black Perkins. Before the iconic Black Barbie debuted in 1980, characters like Christie paved the way for diversity in the Barbie line. To commemorate the anniversary, Kitty Black Perkins worked with Barbie to create a celebratory doll, available for sale at Mattel Shop.
“My tenure at Mattel has been the reward of a lifetime,” said Kitty Black Perkins, former chief designer of fashion dolls at Mattel. “Throughout my 28-year career there, I was steadfast in my dedication to advancing representation within the toy aisle, ensuring every young child had the chance to see themselves in Barbie. We have made significant strides since the first Black Barbie doll in 1980, and I’m proud to say Barbie continues to represent the broadest range of stories, careers, and backgrounds of dolls on the market. I was honoured to partner with Barbie to design the 45th Anniversary Black Barbie, which continues to serve as a reminder to young girls that they have the power to shape the world around them.”
Barbie kicked off Black History Month by teaming up with Aurora James, creative director and founder of Brother Vellies. Aurora teamed up with Barbie to style a feature on the BarbieStyle Instagram channel, showcasing dolls wearing a range of Brother Vellies’ signature styles including the Doodle Boot and two Vellies. The Barbie Podcast also spotlighted Aurora as a special guest, featuring her journey of becoming a trailblazer in the fashion industry.
Fans can also celebrate Black History Month with Barbie through the 1980’s Black Barbie Collection and Barbie Black History Month apparel lines available in Amazon’s online store. The collection, available now at the Barbie Amazon storefront, includes over a dozen graphic tees featuring iconic Black Barbie images in a wide variety of sizes and colours.
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