Latest news with #fashiondoll
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mattel and Mischief Management Join Forces for Barbie Dream Fest
The first-of-its-kind festival experience will celebrate the continued legacy of the first fashion doll at the ultimate Barbie fan event. NEW YORK, July 21, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Experiential event leader Mischief Management and leading global toy and family entertainment company Mattel, Inc. are thrilled to announce Barbie™ Dream Fest, the first festival dedicated to all things Barbie, for fans of all ages. The multi-day experience will debut in March 2026 in Fort Lauderdale, FL, inviting guests to explore the legacy, evolution, and boundless imagination of the Barbie® brand. Attendees can expect themed play zones, collector showcases, conversations with inspiring women from a wide range of fields, interactive activations, and exclusive programming with creators, innovators, and Barbie experts. Whether you grew up with a Barbie DreamHouse™ or built your own adventures in your backyard, Barbie Dream Fest welcomes you to be part of something unforgettable. "We are thrilled to announce Barbie Dream Fest, as a new offering designed to delight the brand's growing fandom," said Julie Freeland, Vice President of Global Location Based Entertainment, Mattel. "It's incredibly exciting to provide fans, families, and collectors with a curated and unique space to gather, learn, and create all while celebrating the iconic Barbie brand." For more than four decades, Barbie has inspired a vibrant community of fans and collectors. This passion gave rise to the National Barbie® Doll Collectors Convention in 1980. Each year, Barbie devotees from around the world gather to celebrate the brand through exclusive dolls, panels, fashion shows, auctions, and exhibits that honor the cultural impact and enduring legacy of Barbie. Building on this powerful fandom, Barbie Dream Fest—created by Mischief Management in partnership with Mattel—invites families, pop culture enthusiasts, fans, and everyone who's ever dreamed big to step into the world of Barbie like never before. Featuring immersive exhibits, inspirational guest speakers, hands-on creative workshops, and nostalgia-fueled installations, the festival offers an unforgettable journey through six decades of the brand's legacy for fans of all ages. With a proven track record of bringing fandoms to life, Mischief Management will produce the event in partnership with Mattel. Known for beloved experiences like BroadwayCon and EnchantiCon, Mischief brings storytelling, interactivity, and heart to every event they touch. "Barbie has always empowered fans to dream big and express themselves boldly," said Melissa Anelli, CEO of Mischief Management. "We're honored to partner with Mattel to bring that spirit to life in a fully immersive way. Barbie Dream Fest will be joyful and filled with unforgettable moments." Fans can sign up now for exclusive event updates, early ticket access, and guest announcements at Follow @BarbieDreamFest on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok to join the conversation. About Mattel Mattel is a leading global toy and family entertainment company and owner of one of the most iconic brand portfolios in the world. We engage consumers and fans through our franchise brands, including Barbie®, Hot Wheels®, Fisher-Price®, American Girl®, Thomas & Friends™, UNO®, Masters of the Universe®, Matchbox®, Monster High®, Polly Pocket®, and Barney®, as well as other popular properties that we own or license in partnership with global entertainment companies. Our offerings include toys, content, consumer products, digital and live experiences. Our products are sold in collaboration with the world's leading retail and ecommerce companies. Since its founding in 1945, Mattel is proud to be a trusted partner in empowering generations to explore the wonder of childhood and reach their full potential. Visit us at About Mischief Management Mischief Management produces fan conventions focusing on community, content, and creativity. Since 2009, it has served over 200,000 fans, providing a fun, vibrant, and safe space to enjoy the things they love. Mischief Management's event lineup includes BroadwayCon (for fans of theatre and Broadway) and EnchantiCon (for fans of fantasy and magical worlds). More information about each of Mischief Management's events can be found at View source version on Contacts MEDIA INQUIRIES:Misfit Toys CommunicationsBrian@
The Guardian
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
How the world of work has lured Barbie out of high heels
She walked into the world on high-heeled mules, but as Barbie's many careers gathered pace, her feet became more planted on the ground, researchers say. A rare analysis of nearly 3,000 Barbies released over 65 years found that high-heeled incarnations gradually made way for flat-shoed forms, as workplace rules relaxed and career doors opened for the PVC doll. The steady embrace of sensible flats coincided with Barbie's laudable engagement with professional employment, the study found, leading its authors to conclude that 'Barbieland has a dynamic environment with evolving employment patterns and social policies'. The work, led by podiatrists in Australia and the UK, was spurred by a scene in Greta Gerwig's 2023 movie in which Margot Robbie's Barbie suffers an existential crisis, and an onslaught of screams and retching, when her tip-toed feet suddenly become flat. Prof Cylie Williams, a podiatrist at Monash University in Australia, said the scene prompted a flurry of Saturday night texts with fellow foot specialists. 'When we were kids, Barbie only wore high heels,' she said. 'Did Barbie really get flat feet? Did the actual toy get flat feet?' And so the investigation began. Armed with a goniometer measuring device, back catalogues of Mattel dolls and access to a personal collection of hundreds of dolls, Williams and her colleagues checked the foot angles of 2,750 Barbies released from 1959 to last June. For the first 30 years, when Barbie launched as a fashion model, put in the hard hours to pass astronaut selection – and simultaneously found her calling in an ice-cream parlour – the doll consistently left the factory on tip toes, with feet at a 40-degree angle to the ground. But from 1990, flat-footed models arrived. As Barbie bolstered her CV by taking orders at McDonald's, hunting fossils as a paleontologist, developing video games and flogging presumably overpriced cheese at a farmers' market, she increasingly favoured functional flats. By mid-2024, according to the study in the journal Plos One, 60% of new Barbies had their feet firmly on the ground. According to Williams, the trend reflected changes in workplace norms and legislation. 'So much has changed over the past 30 or so years. There were jobs, like air hostesses and banking staff, where women had to wear high heels as part of the uniform,' she said. Before the Women's Business Ownership Act of 1988, women in the US could not secure a business loan without a man's co-signature. Asked if there were lessons to learn, Williams, who had worn high heels all day before her interview with the Guardian, said health experts should stop the 'doom and gloom' messages about high heels and the harm they may inflict. Instead, they should trust that women, like Barbie, would pick footwear suitable for the tasks ahead. 'In a world where Barbie could be anything, her ankles still couldn't bend for 30 years,' said Dao Tunprasert, principal lecturer in podiatry at the University of Brighton. 'This is such an oddly fitting metaphor for the rigid expectations placed on women, including in workplace dress codes that demanded heels. 'This study cleverly highlights how even fashion dolls reflect shifting societal norms. Most importantly, it reminds us that women should have the freedom to choose their footwear, heels or not, without judgment particularly from health professionals. Kudos to the researchers for delivering such an important message in such a fabulous way.' A Mattel spokesperson said: 'After more than 65 years of innovation, the past decade has marked the Barbie brand's most ambitious product design evolution yet, with deliberate changes that ensure every child sees themselves reflected in Barbie. 'Committed to creating dolls that inspire all kids, we've increased the variety offered in skin tones, hair colours and textures, body types and disabilities – right down to more foot positions with reimagined footwear options to support Barbie's bold steps forward.'
