Mattell's Top Designer Defends Barbie's 'Unrealistic' Body

Here’s one we found fascinating: Mattell has obviously gotten a lot of criticism in recent years for presenting young girls with an unattainable standard via Barbie, “the most popular fashion doll ever produced.”

We were particularly taken with the “this is what Barbie would look like with the average 19-year-old girl’s body” project by artist Nickolay Lamm.

Now, despite the enthusiasm of the press release above, Mattell’s sales have declined.

In a Fast.CoDesign piece published this week, Barbie’s lead designer finally addresses critics.

In the interview, VP of design Kim Culmone defends the product in a measured way:

“Barbie’s body was never designed to be realistic.

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