This Barbie Is Celebrating Día De Muertos

Mattel is releasing a Barbie x Pink Magnolia Doll, and she’s clad in pink from head to toe and wears traditional Calavera makeup appropriate for the occasion. It’s almost as if Barbie took fashion tips from La Calavera Catrina for her makeup and her beautifully embroidered, puff-sleeved tulle dress. Because this is the Day of the Dead, flowers and skulls are elegantly detailed in her dress and accessories.

This doll was designed by Mattel with Paola Wong, the creative director and co-founder of the Mexican ready-to-wear brand Pink Magnolia. Paola started sewing custom designs in college and founded the first Pink Magnolia shop in Polanco, Mexico City. What started out as a creative endeavor from one woman later grew into a booming slow fashion brand with more than 84,000 followers on Instagram.

It’s not hard to see why Mattel would choose to collaborate with this local Mexican-owned brand when they also feature clothes that could easily be in Barbie’s everyday closet. Anybody in love with the dress featured in this collaboration is in luck because it’s available on Pink Magnolia’s website for non-Barbie-size consumers. It’s wearable for Día de Muertos like Barbie does, but it’s also a fun dress to wear for anyone who wants to look pretty in pink—preferably as they cry over their nth stream of Barbie (2023).

2023 Dia De Muertos Barbie x Pink Magnolia Doll will be available on Mattel’s website for $100 on October 4, 2023, at 9AM Pacific Time, but you can only buy three pieces per order. She’s not too early or too late for either Hispanic Heritage Month or the Day of the Dead. There is also a 2023 Día De Muertos Ken Doll, but he was designed only by Mattel. He’s just Ken, but he looks pretty dapper in his dark blue embroidered jacket, silver pinstripe suit, and black slacks. He’s also wearing Calavera makeup, which looks more skull-like than Barbie’s version.

Ken is already out for $75, with a purchase limit of ten pieces per order.

(featured image: Mattel)

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Vanessa Esguerra

Vanessa Esguerra (She/They) has been a Contributing Writer for The Mary Sue since 2023. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Economy, she (happily) rejected law school in 2021 and has been a full-time content writer since. Vanessa is currently taking her Master's degree in Japanese Studies in hopes of deepening her understanding of the country's media culture in relation to pop culture, women, and queer people like herself. She speaks three languages but still manages to get lost in the subways of Tokyo with her clunky Japanese. Fueled by iced coffee brewed from local cafés in Metro Manila, she also regularly covers anime and video games while queuing for her next match in League of Legends.

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