Mattel gives Ken a man bun - is that diverse enough?

Mattel just announced a slew of new Ken dolls for their play-line Barbie collection, Fashionistas. Ken now has two more body types, broad and slim, in addition to the original. There are 15 new Ken dolls, combining a variety of styles and skin tones, no Asian one though. That is one major fault there. And the broad physic is a muscular style, not a more common body type like the curvy Barbie. Lisa Mc Knight, Mattel's senior vice-president, said in a statement that the variety of Ken dolls would allow girls to “further personalize the role they want him to play in Barbie’s world”. If plastic molded hair means personalisation, that's news to me. 

Ken fashionistas three pack
Ken man bun
Ken fashionistas two pack slim
ken fashionistas corn rows classic cool
Ken fashionistas two pack classic

Don't get me wrong, the dolls look nice - well most of them anyway. That man bun is atrocious. But the molded hair make them a no-no to me. Their immovable non-articulated bodies also. The slim ones look a bit weird, with the head looking too large for their body, making them seem like small children. And remember, promo photos of Mattel usually show the doll much better than what we get in real life. Sigh. I guess kids will get them, which is of course the point, it is a play-line collection after all.  Below is a nice video showing the new dolls.

The dolls are available for pre-order on Mattel's e-shop. They will be released July 8th. 

All photos and video courtesy of Mattel.

Mattel releases new Moschino Barbie & Ken dolls

Once again Mattel releases a Moschino Barbie doll, this time with a Ken accompanying her. The set is based on the red carpet appearance of the Moschino label's designer Jeremy Scott and model Stella Maxwell at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards.


The giftset is priced at $200 at Barbie Collector and €250 at Moschino, which is quite steep for two non articulated Model Muse bodies and that Barbie face. Cannot comment about the clothing quality as I do not have the set available to check out, but you know, it's Mattel. The first photo is of the actual box with the dolls (from the Moschino website), below is the website photo of the set. Barbie looks a bit different.


It's no surprise it has not sold out. I'm guessing it will not. I like Ken's face and hair but the rest of the set is bland and too expensive. 


Below is a photo of Jeremy Scott and Stella Maxwell at the 2015 MTV VMA red carpet.


And the back of the box with all the details.



Body Type: ModelMuse™ Barbie® and ModelMuse™ Ken®
Facial sculpt: Collector-sized Millie and Harley Ken®
Fashion Sewn On: No
Accessories: Heels, loafers
Doll Stand: Yes
Package Dimensions (H/D/W): 17.0“x 4.75“ x 12.0“
© 2016 Moschino