You know Barbie is on her lowest when the bootleg version out-quality, out-fashioned, and out-articulated her like, Mattel seems doesn't care about Barbie's legacy and just milking on her brand
I was the lead designer on Barbie Careers from July 2007 to November 2012. I was simultaneously the lead designer on So In Style from 2011-2012 after Stacey McBride left the company. In my spare time, I designed the Katrina Kaif OOAK doll for India, both Rachel Zoe OOAK doll sets for charity, and the Nicki Minaj OOAK doll for Charity. In 2011, I entered a doll design contest to create the next Monster High and was told that my concept wasn’t that great the entire time. My ‘not so great’ concept directly led to the creation of Ever After High. Ever After High made Mattel over $444 million dollars during the course of its lifetime. I left in the beginning of the development of Ever After High partially because of a mean manager and also because my creativity was being stifled. I say all this to say that the executives at Mattel are not fashion designers, nor do they play with dolls, but they make the final decisions. When you have people high up in the food chain who have style, you get stylish dolls. My $8.99 non-articulated So In Style dolls were designed for 3 years olds and up, but we never dumbed them down. I took developmental psychology courses in college and learned that kids have the same rationale that adults do for what they find appealing in dolls. They just don’t necessarily articulate it in the same way. Mattel needs to put the money back into the product instead of paying higher dividends to its shareholders. And the executives should seriously consider halving their bonuses for those that make over $3 million a year. (There are executives who make $12 million a year) This would prevent yearly layoffs, improve stock dividends, and allow them to put money back into the dolls. I stopped buying Barbie play line dolls for myself in 2022 and the only human proportioned dolls that I buy now are about 6-12 Integrity Toys dolls a year, with a smattering of Barbie Collector and Defa Lucy dolls
When i read that article about Mattel cutting costs i lost all hopes for an improvement in Barbie, i decided that after the new mermaids i won't buy modern Barbie dolls anymore, i can't tollerate that horrible quality for those prices WOW this Defa Lucy dolls are really good for the price, i much prefer this denim line over the ones inspired by Fashionistas and Extra, i hope they wil come in Italy because i want the one with the suit and braid
I love all their outfits and most of the screenings that these dolls get. Such a cute brand! Thanks for showing more of them. I definitely want to get into these. 😍😍
Wow. Just wow. I really want to add all of these girls to my collection. Although their screening is quite simple and playline, they are cute and their fashions look great.
I'm really amazed and worried about the rise of the Defa Lucy when you know its sell on shein knowing their policy when it comes to labor (18h per day). Concerned that the doll community don't care about the ouighours when it comes to their own willing to get dolls.
@@Toywithme200 or maybe we’re just not delusional and we don’t feed into the stupid bull that Mattel promotes. We have taste. Unlike some people. Barbie is at her lowest when it comes to quality. And aesthetic. Nobody went to the Barbie movie dressed as Millie.
@@dollminatrix1375no fr, Barbies are bland pixelated messes in tacky baggy clothes. Aside from the 2 mermaid Barbies, what other Barbie dolls are worth making noise for?
@@BellaTheDollie exactly. Those mermaids are the few Barbie dolls we have seen in the past 80 years that people have truly loved. And people wonder why the entire doll community is gagged by them. Because they are pretty. they are a piping hot pepperoni pizza Next to an eight year long diet of tofu.
@@BellaTheDollie I’m not saying people can’t like what Barbie is giving right now, but clearly the results are showing. Despite the movie Barbies sales are going down. They are cutting back on their product. At this point, she’s basically a action figure with hair.
@@dollminatrix1375 because the Barbie movie aesthetic vs the actual Barbie brand is night and day. The movie promo was fun, whimsical and glamorous. Everyone regardless of age or gender was excited for that, it was an event. The actual Barbie brand is a glorified textbook that sells dolls sometimes. Kids grow out of Barbie the current toy brand fast.
Defa Lucy at least looks more like an adult. Barbie looks like a 12 year old. I got the white hair defa lucy yesterday. She's so stunning. Like a moon goddess or something
Those sort of cusps are really hard to sew that small in 1/6th. You have to do a lot of prepartion work, pinning etc. It isn't as smooth as the tutorials for life size curves like that go.
Love you videos! Defa Lucy is definitely coming for Barbie and on her 65th anniversary no less. MGA also seems to be largely winning the quality battle as well although the slime in Rainbow High is an interesting road to take. I bought 2 Defa Lucy dolls and am very happy and waiting on my order of 2 more. I will look for that Mattel article you referenced - makes me sad.
If they start giving them better hair quality. & different face sculpts...whew, shits going down 😂....ok, I typed this before you said they have saran ?
I don't even have any Defa Lucy, but after reading how arrogant (and delusional) some of the Barbie fans in these comments in defending a corporate bully whose first doll was literally a ripoff of a German doll made me even surer to stop buying Barbies completely, at least the post 2014 ones 😄
@@Callum0777StatsThey completely stole the design, that’s why once rich Ruth Handler went and bought the rights to Bild Lilli and made her disappear… It’s a text book case of corporate plagiarism… 🙄 She was well known for her lack of integrity that’s how she landed herself convicted. She also attempted to cheat her corporate associate out of his fair share of profits and due credit many times, this is all documented and has been talked about by Mattel staff that worked with her back in the day.
there are defa lucy with darker skin and an afro now. There's also one with braids. The afro one is reaallly lovely but she has no articulation. There's also an upcoming one with a pink undertone skin and a tan . Can't wait for them. They will get there, don't forget they're a smaller company than mattel.
Why is there such a competition between Barbie and Defa Lucy evolving in the comments? You all can like and buy whichever brand you want. . . I'm new to this whole thing, but my general strategy is to only buy good quality stuff, unless there's something I really want for some reason. I'll have fewer over all, but I don't want my toy collection to be out of control anyway.
I am looking forward to buying Defa Lucy. The dolls are beautiful. AMAZON is not selling Defa Lucy in the US. I have a huge collection of all kinds of barbies, and to be honest, Defa Lucy looks cuter than the Barbie fashionistas. Love your videos . Your honest opinion is appreciated. 😊
I love that people are so pressed over Barbie lol Barbie is dead. She has been for 8 long years. She’s the cheapest she’s ever been and while she has diversity, people should see that as insult. You get diversity but the quality is garbage. I go to flea markets and one thing is for certain. Kids don’t want Barbie anymore. They want dolls that are fun and captivating. Not pixelated in the face and cheap. Hence why lol omg dolls and rainbow high sell so well and Barbie barely flinches on the store shelves in my area during the holidays. I’m glad Defa Lucy is giving Barbie a run for her money. He didn’t tell a single lie in this video. And yet right now everyone wants the new mermaid Odeles on social media…. Why? Cause that face is the prettiest a Barbie has looked in 8 years.
@@sparkleprizm199 I gave my sister’s friends, daughters older Barbie dolls from my collection and they went crazy for them. They were in awe of how pretty they were. Every since then, they have not touched their current day ones
@@Callum0777Stats really? These are made for little children? Might I remind you that the dolls of the past were also made for little kids. And they were giving not only fierce looks, but were genuinely fun. It’s OK if you like what Barbie is giving now. But many of us don’t.
@@Toywithme200 and maybe you’re just delusional? Perhaps you should buy one of these and then give an opinion. There’s a reason why these dolls, despite being knock offs are taking the doll community by storm. You can either expand your horizons, or stay completely bitter. barely anybody likes what Barbie is giving now. Everybody is tired of it. You and him are one of the few who actually like what she’s giving. Barely anybody else does.
Sorry - but I cannot join the overall euphoria over these dolls. They are attractive because they take the "best" from existing brands like Integrity, JHD and, Mattel, of course, but nothing seems to be original. The quality is there - for the price point, though I am not a big fan of the shiny body and once you take off the fashions they look alike. I guess there is a chance she will become a household name like Steffi Love. Will she be even better than Steffi - time will tell. In any case, enjoy the dolls.
Barbie wasn't original either. It was borrowed from a German doll called Bild Lili. Do a search for Bild Lili. The German dolls look practically identical to the original Barbies, but the German dolls were first.
@@Violetbunnyfish This much I understood though Lili was an "adult" toy back then and Ruth H. saw the potential as girls'/boys' toy. Actually neither Integrity nor JHD are original but I challenge that argument. From the very beginning Integrity/JHD aimed to the adult collector with a very strong quality and a realistic theme. Defa Lucy is basically Barbie extra with a more coherent color and fashion appearance. Quite "ingenious" for a knock-off.
Interesting that behind you are multiple barbie dolls that came out just recently. I.E. the anniversary Christie. So, they must be doing something right. Everyone here making their hideous comments about Mattel and Barbie as a brand are smug hypocrites.
Most of those dolls were his own creation. He bought the cheapest playline doll and restyle it. Which turn out to be better than what Mattel did nowadays.
@@ToysLover96 not the Christie anniversary and there are plenty of “out of the box” dolls behind him as well. I’ve been collecting for 24 years. His like everyone’s opinion is valid, but hypocrisy should be pointed out. The Barbie line has always ebbed and flowed. This is where they are right now. Just saying.
@@nicholasgeorges3953 I understand your pov. I don't think he's hypocrite at all, he's talking about a playline doll. He's just like you and me. We all love Barbie but are we really allowing Mattel to capitalise our hobby by giving us a ton of bad quality dolls? Back then even the cheapest playline "Barbie Chic and Fashion Fever has the same high quality with Barbie collector doll. We just want a good quality dolls cause it's Barbie. Anyway, I would like to see your dolls collection.
@@ToysLover96 well the economy is much different now. It trickles down everywhere. Also, I think kids were different back in the day when the digital realm wasn’t as prevalent and imaginative play still had a handle on them/us. I think these cheap playline dolls reflect the fact less kids are seeing a Barbie as special. I think Mattel needs to focus more on the adult collector lol! We’ll pay more for quality.
I’m not on the Defa Lucy bandwagon. I don’t like the faces. Some of the clothes are nice. I would rather have the Barbie Fashionistas. The new ones are awesome! 😊
@@jppurple98 I mean, that’s entirely up to you if you want to buy that. But I would rather buy a doll that is polished from head to toe. A doll that looks like a model. Not somebody shopping in a Walmart. I want the fantasy, not the reality. I have had Barbies since the year 1999. And I grow up with vintage dolls and ones that were current when I was growing up. Barbie back then it was that b*tch. Period. For me now she’s not even Barbie anymore. She is Millie. There’s a reason why many people hate her face.
@@Toywithme200 sure, hon. Maybe we just have good taste? I still buy Barbie. But nothing new. The same price point you can buy older Barbie dolls for much cheaper or you can buy these. Either way, it’s better than poly plastic, pixelated faces, and cheap hair.
Barbie is no longer Barbie and has not been for a very long time...awful doll's,horrific clothes and I'm over it. Bought some of the fly series,and extra doll's and despite being 30 plus euro in Ireland the quality was horrific in most cases. Defa lucy has what barbie once did that wow factor when you look at the pics you want to buy them
@@Callum0777Stats the bigger, my first barbies got tested by a 3rd party german testing company and they were found to have Napthalene and Antimony. Who knows what else mattel products that have that, but go on.
So gorgeous ❤ it is frustrating to see how fierce their faces and the harder plastic heels and fashion forward compared to what you see at the store when it comes to Barbies. I'm so needing the blonde one with the ruffle top, I almost want her just for the clothes to put on my Japanese Licca And Jenny dolls 🤭🤐💓 is that a sin?
You have to remember that the workers don't get paid a lot of money and the owners of the company are loaded just like Mattel. Mattel has to pay their workers a fair wage and in insurances. I do agree that the dolls are coasting more money but is it Mattel fault or the government fault for the bad economy.
There are Mattel execs who are paid 12 million a year (before bonus)! Imagine how much money they could put back into the products (or how many layoffs they could prevent) if all the executives making 5+ million a year refused to take a bonus or a raise to help others out!
In regards to diversity with so many different faces and skin tones, also figures, Mattel - at this point - is unbeatable! Yes, their overall quallitiy has dropped, and still is. We know this is due to our evily economy system, basically.
to upset barbie stans saying its toxic to sour grape and discredit, that is currently a baseless accusation. But ÖKO-TEST did find My First Barbies to contain Antimony and Napthalene and that doll is for toddlers.
