Mattel Made a Barbie Doll for Ashley Graham, and It’s Too Perfect for Words
Ashley Graham just fulfilled all of our pubescent dreams: She now has her very own Barbie doll. Yup.
The cool peeps over at Mattel decided to honor Graham, one of our Women of the Year honorees, in a way they know best. The toy empire unveiled its Graham doll at Glamour‘s Women of the Year Summit in Los Angeles, and it is too perfect words. We don’t want to bury the lede, so check out a photo of Graham’s doll, below:
And here’s another one because it’s too good. That’s Graham with WOTY Red Carpet Correspondent Barbie. Adorable.
Graham worked hand in hand with Mattel to create her Barbie. The model revealed at Glamour‘s Women of the Year Summit that she requested her Barbie have cellulite and zero thigh gap. Mattel was able to fulfill Graham’s latter request, but the company told her adding cellulite to the Barbie would look more like a production mistake than body authenticity.
As for the final result? Graham was so excited. “She got a round belly. She got round hips. She got round everything, yes!” Graham said after seeing her doll for the first time at the Women of the Year Summit.
For her Barbie’s outfit, Graham chose to recreate one of her post-New York Fashion Week looks: a bedazzled jean jacket and skin-tight, glittery dress. “I’ve never been a girl to cover up my body,” Graham said. “[My Barbie’s] not covered up. She’s just being her fashionable self.”
Fashionable and festive. In one photo, Mattel actually gave Graham’s Barbie a miniature Women of the Year statue. In another, Mattel placed Barbie Graham and Barbie OG at a bite-sized Women of the Year ceremony, which is both amazing and adorable. The party doesn’t really start until Barbie walks in, after all.
And Graham, of course. The supermodel became one of 2016’s most important figures for her relentless body-positive messaging and activism. She gave millions of women (and men!) license to embrace their curves and drown out haters, which is fantastic.
This Barbie doll is just the icing on top of a banner year for Graham. However, the move isn’t just razzle-dazzle. Mattel awarding Graham—a proud, curvy woman—her very own Barbie has some wonderful implications. Little girls still idolize Barbie as the epitome of beauty; by putting Graham in that club, it helps them realize that size doesn’t matter—you’re perfect just the way you are. And that message never gets old.
“Beyond the fashion, it’s so incredible because, now, I’m not striving to be Barbie,” Graham said. “I am Barbie. Everyone can be Barbie.”
For those of you hoping to snag a Graham Barbie for the holidays, you’re out of luck. As of now, Mattel only has two in stock—one for Ashley to take home, of course. However, never underestimate the power of an online petition…
Congratulations, AG! Thank you for helping all of us love our bodies just a little bit more.