WEBVTT - Inside Barbie’s World 0:00:02.840 --> 0:00:06.519 This is iconic fun. I mean, come on the famous. 0:00:06.160 --> 0:00:07.240 Elevator, all right. 0:00:07.440 --> 0:00:10.400 Yeah, so this is a really fun part of the 0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:14.320 Design Center and celebration of a part of Barbie's dreamhouse. 0:00:14.880 --> 0:00:18.599 I'm Emily Chang, and this is the circuit. The most 0:00:18.680 --> 0:00:21.560 popular doll of all time is finally getting her big 0:00:21.560 --> 0:00:25.840 screen debut. Barbie is an icon, a legend, a cultural 0:00:25.920 --> 0:00:28.360 lightning rod, and an eleven and a half inch piece 0:00:28.360 --> 0:00:32.320 of plastic who's represented and projected are biggest aspirations and 0:00:32.360 --> 0:00:36.160 flaws for more than sixty years. Her movie debut marks 0:00:36.159 --> 0:00:38.839 a big bet by Mattel, which hopes to turn legacy 0:00:38.840 --> 0:00:43.680 brands like Barbie, Hot Wheels and Rockham Sockam into blockbuster franchises. 0:00:44.120 --> 0:00:47.760 Think Marvel if they're lucky. With so much riding on 0:00:47.800 --> 0:00:50.760 her tiny but mighty shoulders, I've stepped into Barbie Land 0:00:50.880 --> 0:00:53.239 to find out more about how her makers are inventing 0:00:53.240 --> 0:00:55.760 her next act. We start with a visit to the 0:00:55.800 --> 0:00:59.440 Mattel Design Center with President and COO Richard Dixon to 0:00:59.440 --> 0:01:01.480 get a behind the scenes look at how Barbie is 0:01:01.520 --> 0:01:03.680 made and has evolved over the decades. 0:01:04.000 --> 0:01:06.959 The feedback that we were getting from consumers was she 0:01:07.080 --> 0:01:08.280 just didn't seem relevant. 0:01:08.720 --> 0:01:11.560 I also meet two of the minds behind Barbie's new looks, 0:01:11.800 --> 0:01:15.319 Kim Colmoney and Robert Best to discover all the work 0:01:15.360 --> 0:01:18.640 and experimentation that goes into designing a more inclusive and 0:01:18.680 --> 0:01:19.440 diverse collection. 0:01:19.840 --> 0:01:22.240 Will you want to pull them off? And Tommy does story? 0:01:22.240 --> 0:01:24.880 Anyone that speaks to me? I mean, gosh, they're all 0:01:25.000 --> 0:01:26.240 so beautiful. 0:01:26.200 --> 0:01:29.520 Pretty incredible, Okay, pretty incredible, braid. 0:01:30.319 --> 0:01:33.320 Here's the circuit from inside Mattel's design studio. 0:01:34.840 --> 0:01:38.320 Welcome to the Big Garage. This is the design center, okay, 0:01:38.880 --> 0:01:41.880 and right when you come in, you see, as I said, 0:01:41.920 --> 0:01:44.800 a tribute to our founders, Ruth and Elliott. 0:01:44.880 --> 0:01:47.480 Okay. And what did she want to create? 0:01:47.640 --> 0:01:47.760 Like? 0:01:47.800 --> 0:01:49.400 What was the goal and. 0:01:49.480 --> 0:01:52.520 The origin story of the company was an entrepreneurial couple 0:01:52.640 --> 0:01:56.000 trying to create essentially the future of play Barbie was. 0:01:56.000 --> 0:01:58.400 Of course, Ruth Handler's claim to fame. 0:01:58.920 --> 0:02:02.600 She was inspired by watching her daughter play out through 0:02:02.640 --> 0:02:05.600 paper dolls, imagining that she could be anything that she. 0:02:05.560 --> 0:02:06.040 Wanted to be. 0:02:06.680 --> 0:02:10.040 But what she realized also was her son Ken could 0:02:10.120 --> 0:02:14.280 also play out with action figures and figures, and Barbie, 0:02:14.320 --> 0:02:17.200 of course, was invented with the idea that a girl 0:02:17.240 --> 0:02:21.720 should have those aspiration and inspirational ideas as well. And 0:02:21.800 --> 0:02:24.720 so the invention of the doll was really about Ruth's 0:02:24.760 --> 0:02:28.520 connection with her own daughter, inspiring her to imagine that 0:02:28.800 --> 0:02:30.440 she could be anything that she wanted to be. 0:02:30.560 --> 0:02:32.799 Okay, and Barbie wasn't her daughter's name, right. 0:02:32.639 --> 0:02:37.200 Barbie, Barbie was Kenneth. 0:02:38.280 --> 0:02:43.880 Wow. Yeah, Barbara and Kenneth where Ruth and Elliott's son 0:02:43.919 --> 0:02:44.280 and daughter. 0:02:44.400 --> 0:02:47.359 Okay, just blew my mind. Yeah, that's cool. All right. 0:02:48.120 --> 0:02:50.360 So as you walk through the Design Center, it's a 0:02:50.560 --> 0:02:55.200 huge building with engineers and creatives and artists and designers 0:02:55.200 --> 0:02:59.520 from fashion and automotive and just an incredible place of 0:02:59.639 --> 0:03:02.880 pure creativity. And really that's why I reference it as 0:03:02.919 --> 0:03:03.880 just a bigger. 0:03:03.560 --> 0:03:04.640 Girl, big garage. 0:03:04.840 --> 0:03:06.440 And you've been working here for a pretty long time. 0:03:06.639 --> 0:03:08.359 I have been working here for a pretty long time. 0:03:08.440 --> 0:03:11.160 This was actually my second chapter. I left and somehow 0:03:11.160 --> 0:03:13.639 they got me back in. And of course I've been 0:03:13.639 --> 0:03:16.880 here now a combination of eighteen years. 0:03:16.880 --> 0:03:18.840 So you've personally seen a lot of Barbie's sisty. 0:03:18.840 --> 0:03:20.680 I've seen a lot of Barbie's history, and I've been 0:03:20.680 --> 0:03:22.840 fortunate enough to be a part of that history as well, 0:03:22.840 --> 0:03:26.480 and our job here is to certainly leave it better 0:03:26.520 --> 0:03:28.760 than we found it and create the next generation of 0:03:28.840 --> 0:03:30.640 leadership to take it on to the next level. 0:03:31.120 --> 0:03:33.720 Wasn't she based on a gag gift? 0:03:34.040 --> 0:03:37.200 Well, there's a lot of narratives with Barbie, and Barbie 0:03:37.280 --> 0:03:41.400 is a cultural conversation. But as far as we are 0:03:41.520 --> 0:03:45.040 concerned in the context of how Ruth spoke about Barbie, 0:03:45.080 --> 0:03:47.400 and that's the quote, my whole philosophy of Barbie was 0:03:47.440 --> 0:03:51.040 that through the doll, the little girl could be anything 0:03:51.120 --> 0:03:54.800 she wanted to be. Barbie always represented the fact that 0:03:54.840 --> 0:03:58.320 a woman has choices, and the fashions themselves at that 0:03:58.440 --> 0:04:01.560 time was really about girls experiencing what their choice would 0:04:01.560 --> 0:04:04.960 be and what their aspirational life would take them, and 0:04:05.040 --> 0:04:06.480 ultimately how the brand was invented. 0:04:06.560 --> 0:04:08.840 And I didn't realize so as I understand it was 0:04:08.880 --> 0:04:10.680 she the first adult doll. 0:04:11.160 --> 0:04:13.760 She wasn't necessarily an adult doll. Never said she's an 0:04:13.800 --> 0:04:14.440 adult doll. 0:04:14.520 --> 0:04:16.159 Well, she looks like she looks. 0:04:15.960 --> 0:04:18.039 Like a grown up, but she was actually a teenage. 0:04:18.160 --> 0:04:21.520 She was positioned as a teenager, okay, and her intent 0:04:21.760 --> 0:04:22.279 was really for. 0:04:22.520 --> 0:04:24.760 Younger girls, younger at that time. 0:04:24.920 --> 0:04:28.440 It's called it tween to be inspired, to imagine that 0:04:28.480 --> 0:04:30.760 she could be anything that she wanted to be, and 0:04:30.839 --> 0:04:34.760 ultimately the doll itself when it was taken to New 0:04:34.839 --> 0:04:38.440 York Toy Fair to be presented to retailers, was really 0:04:38.680 --> 0:04:43.440 regarded as this adult toy, if you will. That got 0:04:43.440 --> 0:04:46.120 a lot of pushback from retailers at the time. That 0:04:46.240 --> 0:04:48.960 being said, with the pursuit that Ruth in particular had 0:04:49.040 --> 0:04:51.640 around the empowerment position that she took with this doll, 0:04:52.040 --> 0:04:55.599 it did break through and the industry actually played back 0:04:55.720 --> 0:04:59.480 the definition which became the fashion doll, and that's how 0:04:59.480 --> 0:05:03.240 the fashion all market segment was invented. 0:05:03.480 --> 0:05:05.479 The first Barbie was a fashion model, right. 0:05:05.320 --> 0:05:07.080 The first Barbie was a fashion model, that's right. 0:05:07.480 --> 0:05:09.280 And then she expanded and then. 0:05:09.279 --> 0:05:12.960 She evolved into many, many different careers and ultimately today 0:05:13.120 --> 0:05:16.159 with thousands of careers represented and today is the most 0:05:16.200 --> 0:05:18.080 diverse and inclusive doll brand in the world. 0:05:18.960 --> 0:05:21.880 So she certainly had a complicated history. 0:05:22.360 --> 0:05:25.359 How do you reconcile that sort of preserving the history 0:05:25.400 --> 0:05:26.880 but also rewriting it. 0:05:27.279 --> 0:05:31.320 Yeah, it's the world that talks about Barbie the way 0:05:31.360 --> 0:05:34.160 they are inspired to talk about Barbie. It's our job 0:05:34.240 --> 0:05:36.480 to make sure that we present Barbie based on her 0:05:36.520 --> 0:05:39.000 meaning and purpose and that she matters in people's lives 0:05:39.000 --> 0:05:42.479 as an inspiring tool for girls and boys around the world. 0:05:42.839 --> 0:05:45.359 She used to hold a book that said don't eat, Like, 0:05:46.080 --> 0:05:46.960 how do you think about that? 0:05:47.480 --> 0:05:52.320 The brand has always had controversial moments in the context 0:05:52.360 --> 0:05:55.279 of some of the toys, either that we invented or 0:05:55.360 --> 0:05:57.599 some of the narratives that were associated with the brand. 0:05:57.680 --> 0:05:59.839 Right, there was another Barbie that had a book, or 0:06:00.080 --> 0:06:02.480 there was another a teen Barbie I think that said 0:06:02.480 --> 0:06:03.520 math class is tough. 0:06:04.160 --> 0:06:04.600 Yikes. 0:06:04.880 --> 0:06:08.279 Yeah, yeah, there were there were lots of parts of 0:06:08.320 --> 0:06:11.279 our history that ultimately, in the moment that they were created, 0:06:11.360 --> 0:06:17.360 probably with the right intent, either were misinterpreted or ultimately, 0:06:18.120 --> 0:06:20.960 you know, became part of a cultural conversation that had 0:06:21.000 --> 0:06:25.680 more negativity associated with it. Now, what's interesting about our 0:06:25.720 --> 0:06:29.640 brand is we actually present the brand to inspire other 0:06:29.720 --> 0:06:32.240 imaginations to whatever they want to be. 0:06:32.240 --> 0:06:33.599 And however they think of the brand. 0:06:34.080 --> 0:06:38.240 Barbie is an open ended brand, so there is no start, middle, 0:06:38.279 --> 0:06:39.040 and end to it. 0:06:39.040 --> 0:06:40.600 It's really what you make of it. 0:06:40.760 --> 0:06:46.000 And so while there's been controversy and cultural conversations around it, 0:06:46.120 --> 0:06:48.440 our job has been to keep the brand relevant and 0:06:48.600 --> 0:06:52.800 current in the context of culture. Still an eleven and 0:06:52.800 --> 0:06:55.440 a half inch doll from nineteen fifty nine until now, 0:06:55.800 --> 0:06:59.159 but we've diversified her. We've included lots of different ways 0:06:59.160 --> 0:07:01.720 that girls can see themselves in the brand, and we 0:07:01.760 --> 0:07:03.400 take a lot of pride in the fact that we 0:07:03.440 --> 0:07:07.560 have evolved her into a meaningful conversation that matters in 0:07:07.560 --> 0:07:11.600 people's lives. So now we're entering the Barbie section of 0:07:11.640 --> 0:07:14.640 the Design Center, and of course you'll see everything Barbie, 0:07:14.680 --> 0:07:17.720 but in particular our purpose on the wall there to 0:07:17.800 --> 0:07:21.120 inspire and nurture the limitless potential in every girl. Throughout 0:07:21.160 --> 0:07:24.160 this section, here as far as you could see, is 0:07:24.200 --> 0:07:27.720 where the Barbie team sits. They work in a very collaborative, 0:07:27.760 --> 0:07:31.600 team based environment. It's very much like a fashion company 0:07:32.120 --> 0:07:33.040 in miniature version. 0:07:33.200 --> 0:07:35.800 Interesting because you're sort of your setting trends or you're 0:07:36.320 --> 0:07:37.120 taking the pulse of. 0:07:37.360 --> 0:07:40.640 Well, we're a real fashion trende. Barbie's wearing clothes. She 0:07:41.120 --> 0:07:44.000 has different looks in different outfits. Every one of them 0:07:44.080 --> 0:07:47.720 is designed by an apparel and fashion designer with backgrounds 0:07:47.760 --> 0:07:51.720 in the apparel space. We then have face painters and 0:07:51.920 --> 0:07:55.920 pattern makers and sewers and stitchers and all sorts of 0:07:56.560 --> 0:07:59.360 skill sets and talents and artisans that basically bring the 0:07:59.400 --> 0:08:02.360 brand to life much like real fashion brands. 0:08:03.360 --> 0:08:06.040 Okay, yeah, super cool, very cool. 0:08:06.200 --> 0:08:08.920 Especially in more recent years, you started doing consumer surveys 0:08:08.920 --> 0:08:10.600 and talking to kids about Barbie. 0:08:10.800 --> 0:08:11.440 What were they. 0:08:11.320 --> 0:08:15.880 Telling you, Well, we've gone through an evolution of the brand, 0:08:16.000 --> 0:08:19.960 and back in twenty fourteen it was really marked a 0:08:20.000 --> 0:08:22.720 pivotal moment for us where the brand was not doing 0:08:22.720 --> 0:08:25.600 well in the marketplace. The feedback that we were getting 0:08:25.600 --> 0:08:27.240 from consumers was she. 0:08:27.320 --> 0:08:28.520 Just didn't seem relevant. 0:08:28.880 --> 0:08:31.200 Not only didn't she seem relevant, but she didn't look 0:08:31.400 --> 0:08:34.200 as relevant as she had in the past. She wasn't 0:08:34.200 --> 0:08:37.360 as aspirational, and she didn't represent the intrinsic values that 0:08:37.440 --> 0:08:41.400 we were promoting. But it wasn't breaking through in terms 0:08:41.440 --> 0:08:44.160 of our audience. So we took a hard look at 0:08:44.320 --> 0:08:46.680 essentially who we were and what we were saying and 0:08:46.760 --> 0:08:49.560 turn the conversation from what was I call a brand 0:08:49.640 --> 0:08:52.200 monologue where we were telling the world what Barbie is, 0:08:52.720 --> 0:08:55.480 into a dialogue where we were actually listening to our 0:08:55.520 --> 0:08:58.840 consumer tell us what they thought of our brand. And 0:08:58.880 --> 0:09:01.120 that was hard and some of the things that we 0:09:01.160 --> 0:09:04.560 heard were difficult, that she wasn't a reflection of how 0:09:04.600 --> 0:09:07.720 the world looked, of how our world looked in terms 0:09:07.760 --> 0:09:13.160 of diversity inclusiveness. She didn't represent the career aspirational values 0:09:13.200 --> 0:09:14.760 that we had built the brand on. 0:09:14.920 --> 0:09:17.280 Did kids say that? How would kids frame that? 0:09:17.480 --> 0:09:19.600 Sort of The feedback that we got from kids was 0:09:19.640 --> 0:09:23.920 the play experience was not as fun. It didn't represent 0:09:24.840 --> 0:09:28.000 sort of real and in our world that play system 0:09:28.160 --> 0:09:30.720 is really role play and if we're not providing the 0:09:30.760 --> 0:09:33.920 right system of play for girls and kids to be inspired, 0:09:34.000 --> 0:09:36.800 then we're missing the mark. So ultimately, we took a 0:09:36.800 --> 0:09:40.240 hard look at ourselves. We diversified the brand. We introduced 0:09:40.280 --> 0:09:43.599 twenty four different skin tones represent the ethnicities around the 0:09:43.600 --> 0:09:47.199 world that girls see. We changed her body and introduced 0:09:47.280 --> 0:09:51.199 nine different shapes, tall, petite, kurvy, and etc. We kept 0:09:51.240 --> 0:09:54.280 the original, but we expanded for choice, and we started 0:09:54.280 --> 0:09:57.280 to recognize women of achievement and honor them with their 0:09:57.280 --> 0:10:01.000 own Barbie to be able to show girls you can 0:10:01.080 --> 0:10:04.720 be whoever you inspired to be based. 0:10:04.400 --> 0:10:06.240 On the accomplishments of women around the world. 0:10:06.720 --> 0:10:10.400 So highlighting those stories for girls also helped us create Thats. 0:10:10.360 --> 0:10:13.640 You didn't start releasing the new body types until twenty sixteen. 0:10:14.600 --> 0:10:16.400 What do you say to folks who think it's too 0:10:16.520 --> 0:10:19.480 late for a rebrand, like it just took too long. 0:10:19.920 --> 0:10:23.600 Well, look, I think when we look at the connection 0:10:23.760 --> 0:10:27.320 that we have with those who love us and with 0:10:27.480 --> 0:10:31.000 those who are starting to understand more about the value 0:10:31.200 --> 0:10:34.880 of Barbie play, that's who we want to make sure 0:10:35.120 --> 0:10:39.200 connects to our brand. We can't please everybody. We have 0:10:39.240 --> 0:10:42.560 a strong purpose, we have a reason for being. We 0:10:42.640 --> 0:10:45.120 have a brand that matters, and it's our job to 0:10:45.320 --> 0:10:48.720 ensure that those who really respond to our play pattern 0:10:48.760 --> 0:10:52.120 are inspired by it and can feel connected in a 0:10:52.160 --> 0:10:54.920 moment where their development needs are being met. 0:10:55.200 --> 0:10:57.920 Do you think Mattel should have changed faster, Should Barbie 0:10:57.960 --> 0:10:58.679 have changed faster? 0:10:58.800 --> 0:10:59.320 In your view? 0:10:59.760 --> 0:11:02.040 Look, I think the business would have suggested that Barbie 0:11:02.040 --> 0:11:02.959 should have changed faster. 0:11:03.120 --> 0:11:03.559 For sure. 0:11:04.040 --> 0:11:08.960 A brand that has decades and decades of history, probably 0:11:09.000 --> 0:11:11.800 any one of those brands goes through, you know, cycles 0:11:11.800 --> 0:11:17.840 of peaks and pits, and we had gone through a pit. However, 0:11:17.880 --> 0:11:21.280 the work that we did to understand the dynamics of 0:11:21.280 --> 0:11:24.200 how to get out of that, reflecting back to the 0:11:24.240 --> 0:11:26.760 origin story of the brand, is really what we could 0:11:26.760 --> 0:11:28.520 be most proud of that has led. 0:11:28.400 --> 0:11:31.079 Us to today's Barbie, which is. 0:11:31.120 --> 0:11:35.480 Double where it was five years ago, is unbelievably culturally relevant, 0:11:35.600 --> 0:11:38.440 is on the cusp of this theatrical film that we 0:11:38.440 --> 0:11:39.560 couldn't be more proud of. 0:11:40.440 --> 0:11:46.040 The circuit continues after this quick break. 0:11:46.840 --> 0:11:49.920 All right, so now we're going to enter probably you know, 0:11:49.960 --> 0:11:52.360 one of the most important parts of the doll design 0:11:52.520 --> 0:11:54.120 and development process, which is. 0:11:54.120 --> 0:11:55.640 Of course Barbie's hair. 0:11:56.440 --> 0:12:01.960 Yes, come on hairport part of the play pattern, and 0:12:02.080 --> 0:12:06.560 also a really proprietary way that we design Barbie's hair. 0:12:07.040 --> 0:12:11.640 Incredible expertise, the finest of fabrics, and the various different 0:12:11.640 --> 0:12:14.480 ways that we present Barbie as the most inclusive and 0:12:14.520 --> 0:12:15.679 diversityal line in. 0:12:15.600 --> 0:12:16.920 The world, and a lot of it has to do 0:12:17.000 --> 0:12:18.480 with her hair and her look. 0:12:18.600 --> 0:12:23.000 All right, These are our amazing creators who are This 0:12:23.040 --> 0:12:26.280 is Kim who runs design for all of Barbie as. 0:12:26.200 --> 0:12:28.040 Well as other parts of the Mattel system. 0:12:28.080 --> 0:12:31.240 And this is Robert Best, one of our most famous 0:12:32.200 --> 0:12:38.160 designers in the Barbie organization, but also really an avid 0:12:39.520 --> 0:12:44.640 expert in everything Barbie has a fan following all by 0:12:44.720 --> 0:12:47.040 himself in terms of his own dollar design and we 0:12:47.320 --> 0:12:49.840 could not be more lucky to have these two on 0:12:49.880 --> 0:12:50.600 the Barbie team. 0:12:50.760 --> 0:12:52.040 So tell me about Barbie's hair. 0:12:52.360 --> 0:12:54.640 We're gonna start at the beginning of the design process, actually, 0:12:54.920 --> 0:12:57.080 so everything starts with a sketch, and it starts with 0:12:57.120 --> 0:13:00.360 the designer's vision, and then we have an incredible group 0:13:00.520 --> 0:13:04.120 of hair designers and face designers that bring the designer's 0:13:04.200 --> 0:13:06.480 vision to life in three D. And then we move 0:13:06.520 --> 0:13:09.880 into fiber choice. There's a board of colors and lens 0:13:10.000 --> 0:13:12.560 of fibers, all the varied textures. 0:13:12.960 --> 0:13:13.760 As I'm sure. 0:13:13.600 --> 0:13:17.040 You've been talking about, diversity and inclusion and representation is 0:13:17.120 --> 0:13:19.199 centered in everything that we do. 0:13:19.320 --> 0:13:22.680 What were the challenges that you face trying to make 0:13:22.720 --> 0:13:25.840 her more diverse and experiment with these materials that you've 0:13:25.880 --> 0:13:28.440 been were using for decades but then had to change. 0:13:28.280 --> 0:13:30.360 Well, and some of it's in research and development. So 0:13:30.520 --> 0:13:33.760 we develop hair fibers that are more varied than we 0:13:33.800 --> 0:13:35.760 had had in the past. And you can see here 0:13:35.840 --> 0:13:39.480 this amazing knit fiber that gives you an absolutely fantastic, 0:13:39.520 --> 0:13:44.120 authentic texture for the afro on that doll. And then 0:13:44.240 --> 0:13:46.520 we continue to do that R and D, whether it's 0:13:46.520 --> 0:13:49.520 in raids or other sorts of fibers that allow the 0:13:49.559 --> 0:13:52.280 designers and our hair designers to bring to. 0:13:52.320 --> 0:13:56.760 Life the vision of a real woman in her hair. 0:13:57.320 --> 0:13:59.319 So why don't we go see Aki, who's one of 0:13:59.320 --> 0:14:01.480 our hair rooters, and you can see how we make 0:14:01.520 --> 0:14:02.000 that magic. 0:14:02.080 --> 0:14:07.320 Let's do it, Hi Aki, This is Aki. Nice, Nice 0:14:07.360 --> 0:14:10.679 to meet you. This is an original machine that was 0:14:10.800 --> 0:14:13.320 used on the first barbies that we used. We still 0:14:13.400 --> 0:14:15.880 use the originals here to build our prototypes. 0:14:16.120 --> 0:14:17.800 And she's going to show you how we take the 0:14:17.880 --> 0:14:20.760 hair from those spools and put it into the doll. 0:14:20.880 --> 0:14:23.400 Oh my goodness, don't be afraid, because sometimes people are. 0:14:23.760 --> 0:14:25.240 It's a little districting. 0:14:26.000 --> 0:14:27.760 See how the sausage is maybe, and I don't think 0:14:27.760 --> 0:14:29.760 people think about how does that hair actually get in 0:14:29.760 --> 0:14:32.160 that head? You know. So she's going to show you 0:14:32.200 --> 0:14:35.800 so and so often what we do is we heat 0:14:35.840 --> 0:14:38.200 the heads a little bit so the plastasaol is a 0:14:38.240 --> 0:14:42.880 little softer. But then she has a needle that draws 0:14:43.000 --> 0:14:47.160 the hair fiber, which is a continuous filament into the needle, 0:14:47.360 --> 0:14:51.560 and she guides along the periphery of in the head 0:14:52.920 --> 0:14:55.320 and each stitch is locking into. 0:14:55.520 --> 0:14:58.640 The head as she goes through. It's so intricate. You 0:14:58.800 --> 0:15:00.600 just don't realize how interest okay that is. 0:15:01.080 --> 0:15:04.200 And what she'll eventually do. Once she roots the entire head, 0:15:04.400 --> 0:15:07.320 she'll then root apart line, she can root highlights in, 0:15:08.200 --> 0:15:10.720 she can begin the styling process. But each of our 0:15:10.720 --> 0:15:16.920 prototypes are done by hair working with the specifications from 0:15:16.920 --> 0:15:21.400 the designers, and we're also very specific about the number 0:15:21.480 --> 0:15:24.600 of stitches per inch. Barbie's hair is a very heroic 0:15:24.680 --> 0:15:25.160 part of the. 0:15:25.120 --> 0:15:28.320 Doll, and she's famous for her amazing hair. So is 0:15:28.360 --> 0:15:31.320 everyone who's making these doing it by hand? Or do 0:15:31.400 --> 0:15:34.200 you have machines do this in the in house factory? 0:15:34.240 --> 0:15:37.240 In house here for prototypes, we actually do them by hand. 0:15:37.280 --> 0:15:40.920 We have some automation process when we reach the manufacturing stage, 0:15:41.240 --> 0:15:44.160 but the ones that we make here while we're ideating 0:15:44.200 --> 0:15:47.840 and creating the next Barbie's are all created by hand. Okay, 0:15:47.960 --> 0:15:50.920 you'd be amazed how much handwork is actually done. 0:15:51.000 --> 0:15:53.200 Throughout the process of the creation of a Barbie. 0:15:53.280 --> 0:15:56.720 Even in manufacturing, there's handbraiding, there's other aspects just to 0:15:56.760 --> 0:15:58.000 get the design exactly right. 0:15:58.920 --> 0:16:00.800 I had no idea. 0:16:00.280 --> 0:16:04.840 Most people now, and it's a fairly fast process. I mean, 0:16:04.880 --> 0:16:07.360 within a little bit now, she'll start to speed up. 0:16:07.440 --> 0:16:08.280 I'm not telling you to. 0:16:08.280 --> 0:16:08.800 Speed up up. 0:16:09.400 --> 0:16:10.760 I'm just describing it. 0:16:10.600 --> 0:16:12.840 What She'll start to speed up and the next thing 0:16:12.880 --> 0:16:14.640 you'll see, the entire crown. 0:16:14.480 --> 0:16:18.480 Of ahead will be covered. And then there's a stage. 0:16:18.280 --> 0:16:21.960 Where she'll rush it out and it'll look like the 0:16:22.000 --> 0:16:23.080 barneys that you see on job. 0:16:23.920 --> 0:16:25.600 How do you think about, like what comes next? What 0:16:25.680 --> 0:16:27.240 should we do? What's that process? 0:16:27.360 --> 0:16:27.480 Like? 0:16:27.560 --> 0:16:28.680 Do we do this? Do we do that? 0:16:29.280 --> 0:16:32.680 I think it's a collaborative process between the creative teams, 0:16:32.760 --> 0:16:36.360 the marketing team, sort of everybody just looking at ideas 0:16:36.480 --> 0:16:39.480 and looking to be as expansive as possible. We know 0:16:39.600 --> 0:16:42.320 that it's like it's not perfect, it's not like a 0:16:42.320 --> 0:16:46.240 fully finished thing. It's something that can always improve. I 0:16:46.280 --> 0:16:48.640 think you see that in terms of we are always 0:16:48.760 --> 0:16:52.640 looking at sort of what representation means and how important 0:16:52.720 --> 0:16:55.480 that is, and sort of seeing who do we serve currently, 0:16:55.560 --> 0:16:59.200 how can we serve more people better? And what does 0:16:59.240 --> 0:17:02.400 that mean. It's not always just a simple thing of 0:17:02.440 --> 0:17:06.399 a visual thing about aesthetics. It's about differently abled communities. 0:17:06.480 --> 0:17:12.080 It's about representation in its broadest forms. So we're always experimenting, 0:17:12.640 --> 0:17:16.439 talking to outside people, talking to our customers, listening to 0:17:16.480 --> 0:17:19.000 our customers, and that's how you kind of get to 0:17:19.080 --> 0:17:23.480 this idea of pushing yourself to kind of explore how 0:17:23.520 --> 0:17:26.840 that can look and how it could continue to expand 0:17:26.920 --> 0:17:29.080 because we know we're not done right. It's not like 0:17:29.160 --> 0:17:33.399 you can just kind of rest on our laurels la 0:17:33.640 --> 0:17:34.320 resting here. 0:17:34.840 --> 0:17:40.119 Yeah. I think insight instinct equals innovation, starting with insights, 0:17:40.200 --> 0:17:44.200 talking to parents, kids, families, fans, taking the instincts of 0:17:44.240 --> 0:17:46.840 our designers, some of which are newer to the brand 0:17:46.880 --> 0:17:49.040 and some have a history on the brand. That's what 0:17:49.119 --> 0:17:52.520 gets us to the innovation. All of our prototypes are handmade, 0:17:52.640 --> 0:17:54.840 but then we have to get to mass production. So 0:17:55.000 --> 0:17:58.160 then the process of all of our manufacturing sources really 0:17:58.160 --> 0:18:00.720 figuring out how to bring this to Life's great in 0:18:00.800 --> 0:18:02.640 this space, it's great in the design center, it's even 0:18:02.680 --> 0:18:05.080 better on shelf. Yeah, if we can't get it made, 0:18:05.520 --> 0:18:09.960 then the idea, you know, is art versus an actual 0:18:10.000 --> 0:18:12.600 product that can serve the consumers that love the brand. 0:18:13.080 --> 0:18:14.720 So I think it's really also like when we talk 0:18:14.720 --> 0:18:18.120 about the customer you're serving, everyone from like the oldest 0:18:18.160 --> 0:18:22.280 consumer or collectors who really like have an appreciation of details, 0:18:22.280 --> 0:18:24.600 are maybe not looking to play with this style as 0:18:24.680 --> 0:18:27.480 much as display or sort of like have it be 0:18:27.520 --> 0:18:31.199 part of their collection, whereas like a younger audience, younger kids, 0:18:31.560 --> 0:18:34.600 it's about brushing the hair, styling the hair, playing with it. 0:18:34.960 --> 0:18:39.520 So these really long hairstyles, like this incredible crimped style 0:18:40.000 --> 0:18:41.600 that would have been so fun to brush. 0:18:41.680 --> 0:18:44.399 Yeah, yeah, I did a lot of brush. Like, I 0:18:44.400 --> 0:18:47.840 did some cutting too. How do you know that I 0:18:48.080 --> 0:18:49.600 got it cut away? 0:18:49.680 --> 0:18:52.200 Yeah, Like, I think it's the whole thing of giving permission. 0:18:52.520 --> 0:18:55.720 That's the play the play aspect is like not limiting 0:18:55.760 --> 0:18:58.600 what that means and kids to find it themselves. Right, 0:18:58.640 --> 0:19:01.080 So cutting the hair is a big part of it 0:19:01.119 --> 0:19:03.160 because it's this thing of like you see it happen 0:19:03.200 --> 0:19:05.439 in real life and you're like, that seems like a 0:19:05.440 --> 0:19:07.760 good idea. I'm going to do that to Barbie. And 0:19:07.840 --> 0:19:11.560 the next thing you know, it's tears and a horrible hairstyle. 0:19:12.400 --> 0:19:13.439 I've learned a lesson. 0:19:13.840 --> 0:19:17.360 Yeah, but that's actually the best part of Barbie. Right. 0:19:17.520 --> 0:19:19.520 We put the doll in the box, but she comes 0:19:19.560 --> 0:19:22.080 to life when she gets in the hands of a kid, 0:19:22.520 --> 0:19:24.359 and that's the beauty, that's the. 0:19:24.280 --> 0:19:27.920 Magic of the Barbie brand. That's actually an amazing place 0:19:27.960 --> 0:19:31.120 to end. Thank you course, so much, good, Thank. 0:19:30.960 --> 0:19:34.000 You, thanks so much for listening to the Circuit podcast. 0:19:34.480 --> 0:19:36.520 Check out the full episode to hear more from Attel 0:19:36.640 --> 0:19:40.800 CEO Eenon Cries, the architect of the company's new content strategy. 0:19:41.400 --> 0:19:44.600 We also sit down with OSCAR nominated producer Robbie Brenner, 0:19:44.840 --> 0:19:48.280 the heavyweight behind the upcoming Barbie film. If you want 0:19:48.280 --> 0:19:51.199 even more Barbie content, check out our recent episode of 0:19:51.200 --> 0:19:54.400 Bloomberg's The Big Take to hear about Barbie's high stakes, 0:19:54.560 --> 0:19:55.520 big screen debut. 0:19:56.280 --> 0:19:57.040 I'm Emily Chank. 0:19:57.160 --> 0:19:59.440 You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram at Emily 0:19:59.520 --> 0:20:02.440