Mattel and Barbie are celebrating Black History Month
Mattel announced that Barbie is celebrating Black History Month and multiple generations of Black female designers, past, present, and future – from the designer behind the first-ever Black Barbie doll to emerging designers making a name for themselves, to young girls considering a future career in fashion design.
Encouraging more young Black girls
Knowing that Black designers make up only 7.3% of the fashion industry1, despite the community’s significant influence on fashion, Barbie is committed to encouraging more young Black girls to consider a career in fashion design through partnerships that help break down barriers, unlock opportunity, and inspire the next generation.
Barbie is partnering with the Black in Fashion Council (BIFC), an organization aiming to increase representation and secure the advancement of Black individuals in the fashion and beauty industry, to highlight and celebrate three emerging Black female designers who have broken barriers for women in fashion. Barbie and BIFC engaged Blake Newby, Digital Content Creator, TV Personality, and Podcast Host, to create a series of interviews with the designers, sharing their career journeys and advice for the next generation interested in pursuing design.
Addressing the barriers
Through these conversations, each designer identified a barrier to entry to becoming a fashion designer. To help address these barriers for the next generation, Barbie and BIFC are creating custom programming geared toward kids, teens, and young designers at the 2025 ENVSN Festival. The ENVSN Festival brings together thousands of attendees each year aged 12-27 for a two-day event with inspiring panels featuring industry trailblazers, hands-on workshops, and interactive experiences. The designers featured, and their identified barriers include:
- Larissa Muehleder
- Nia Thomas
- Fumi Egbon
Find out more about these women and the collaboration in the source description.