Barbie Styles A New Life For Herself As A Creative Director

BusinessRetailBarbie Styles A New Life For Herself As A Creative DirectorBySharon Edelson,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about retail and the forces that are redefining shopping.Follow AuthorMay 07, 2026, 01:26pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Barbie has been around for six decades, but that's not stopping her from pursuing a career as a fashion director.COURTESY OF MATTEL; PHOTO BY CHARLES DENISTwo years ago cultural icon Barbie gained some independence when she rejected a misogynistic Ken in the 2023 Barbie movie and embarked on a journey of self discovery. Now she’s back with an important new job as a creative director and a brand new collection sold at Edikted.com. The new brand, which launches today, is the fruit of a collaboration between Mattel and Edikted. Barbie by Edikted is a result of Barbie stepping into a creative director role for the first time, although Barbie played a designer in another film, Barbie’s Fashion Fairy Tale in 2010, so she has some experience. Barbie partnered with Edikted to design a collection that celebrates her legacy through a distinctly Gen Z lens. Dedy Shwartzberg, chief executive officer and founder of Edikted, had the idea for a collection and he told Mattel chairman and CEO Ynon Kreiz, “I remember when I was young, Barbie was a fashion model. I have an idea to make Barbie a designer or fashion director.” Shwartzberg told Kreiz that he wanted to produce a Barbie collection and said won’t be just about the logo.“What was really important to Mattel was to get someone who understood how Gen Z lives and shops. Editkted obviously understands that incredibly well. They not only get them aesthetically, they understand them operationally,” said Natalia Premovic, chief consumer products and experiences officer at Mattel. “Only a handful of companies are able to move at the sp...