Mattel Launching Barbie Fashion Competition Show
The toy company is set to launch a series prompting designers to create luxury ensembles for the legendary Barbie doll.
Barbie is getting the reality TV treatment with an upcoming fashion design competition series. Barbie Fashion Battle will see 12 designers face off to create new and innovative outfits for the iconic toy doll. Designers will be separated into two "fashion houses," each led by icons in the fashion industry. Mattel, the toy company behind Barbie, has partnered with Mission Control Media to launch the project.
The winning designer will receive a monetary prize and the opportunity to create a collection of clothes of Barbie. As of now, it's unclear on what TV channel or streaming platform the show will be made available.
Over the years, Barbie and Mattel have partnered with a number of brands and designers like Maison Margiela, Burberry, and Ralph Lauren to create limited collections for the ubiquitous doll. Recently, Balmain designed a gender-bending line of clothes for the Barbie and Ken dolls in coordination with the brand's Fall/Winter 2021 fashion show. However, Barbie Fashion Battle will charge unknown designers with creating their own luxury clothes for the doll.
"For more than 60 years, Barbie has been boss when it comes to fashion and has served as a muse for a variety of fashion designers, many of whom continue to design for her today," said Adam Bonnett, Executive Producer of Mattel TV in a statement. "Now, in partnership with Mission Control Media, Barbie Fashion Battle will give the next generation of designers the opportunity to design high-fashion looks for Barbie. This project is part of our broader effort to expand the Barbie content universe with new scripted and unscripted content, including the recently announced Barbie & Chelsea: The Lost Birthday, among other projects."
