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Queen & Slim inspired Barbie Collection

Source: Mattel / Mattel 2020

Barbie has a whole new look this Black History Month and it’s all thanks to Shiona Turini, the costume designer for Lena Waithe’s Queen and Slim. Within the past few months, Mattel has been making more efforts to be inclusive by releasing Barbies with vitiligo, alopecia and prosthetic legs.

The celebrity stylist collaborated with Barbie and @BarbieStyle to present to us their latest digital campaign as seen on their Instagram account. The project comes on the 40th anniversary since Mattel debut their first Black Barbie.

“I’ll never forget being in New York as a young black girl and finding a Black Barbie, and especially a Black Barbie birthday set,” Turini told PEOPLE as she reminisced about her childhood and the impact of Barbie on her love for fashion. “Barbie is a historic brand that was inclusive before it was trendy.” According to PEOPLE, Turini, who has dressed celebrities such as Beyonce, Issa Rae, Lena Waithe and Future, the new Barbie campaign features a four-part collection with over 20 looks. As seen on Shiona Turini’s Instagram page, the collection offers a wide variety of looks with inspiration drawn from the original Black barbie to Black activism to her latest project, Queen & Slim.

“Collaborating with @barbiestyle is a childhood dream given I spent countless hours with my cousin playing with Barbie,” says Turini in a statement on the Barbie Style Instagram account. Since the original Christie doll launched 40 years ago with her signature red dress and Afro pick, Barbie has since launched dolls of different shapes, sizes, hair textures, eye colors and even gender neutrality with the launch of Creatable World. This collection offers a wide range of diversity and clearly representing the non-monolithic experience of the Black woman with wheelchair inclusion, difference in hair texture and range in body weight.

Turini admits that Barbie was her first-ever fashion icon in an Instagram post revealing the campaign launch to her followers.  “I hope other young children, and adult Barbie lovers, are as excited to see themselves reflected in these dolls as I am,” the renowned stylist and designer states. “Baby Shiona is PROUD. Representation matters and I’m so grateful to be a part of this moment.”

If you want to get your hands on one of the dolls, stay tuned to @BarbieStyle. “We’ll be featuring the shoppable dolls in our Stories, so follow along!” they wrote in response to a fan on Instagram.

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