At 63 years old, Barbie is getting in on the NFT game with the help of a Serena Williams-backed global brand.
Since Barbie’s creation in 1959, the popular doll has held down 250 different careers. To celebrate her versatility and keep up that entrepreneurial ambition, Barbie is now getting in on the NFT game, with the help of Serena Williams.
In celebration of International Day of the Girl on October 11, parent company Mattel announced that its Barbie brand has once again partnered with Boss Beauties, the woman-led global brand backed by Offline Ventures, Board Member Randi Zuckerberg, Female Founders Fund, global ad agency Wieden+Kennedy, and Serena Williams’ Serena Ventures to launch a collection of collectible non-fungible tokens “designed to inspire the next generation of leaders and dreamers, set to debut later this year.”
According to a joint press release by Boss Beauties and Mattel, Boss Beauties and Barbie have combined Boss Beauties’ signature branding style with the iconic look of the now-legendary fashion doll to create 15,000 one-of-a-kind Barbie NFT portraits for collectors to buy and trade. Each digital art piece will feature Barbie in her varied careers—including astronaut, archeologist, beekeeper, and more—in celebration of the brand reaching 250 careers represented.
“Barbie is the original girl empowerment brand. From CEO to chef to scientist, we’ve been reminding girls everywhere that they can be anything for the past six decades,” said Lisa McKnight, Executive Vice President and Global Head of Barbie & Dolls, Mattel. “As we celebrate over 250 careers represented in the Barbie line timed to International Day of the Girl, we are proud to bring some of these careers to life in a new way through our digital art collaboration with Boss Beauties, which celebrates our shared passion to champion the next generation of female leaders.”
Lisa Mayer, CEO and co-founder of Boss Beauties, said it’s been a special honor to re-partner with the legacy brand, especially as someone who grew up playing with Barbie.
“Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I’d someday have the courage to dream big and start a company that would later collaborate with Barbie to inspire girls worldwide,” said Mayer, adding: “It is also so important for us to announce this on International Day of the Girl as the heart of our brand is about supporting women and girls to be everything they want to be.”
In anticipation of the NFT launch, Barbie and Boss Beauties are also planning to host a series of virtual mentorship sessions, inviting girls around the world to hear from female leaders representing a wide breadth of careers, including 21-year-old international speaker, writer, and wellness activist Haile Thomas.
As an additional component of their partnership, Barbie and Boss Beauties will donate $250,000 in honor of the 250 careers represented in the collection. Half will be allocated to Barbie’s Dream Gap Project, a global initiative created by Mattel “to raise awareness around limiting factors that prevent girls from reaching their full potential.” The other half will benefit the Boss Beauties Foundation, which seeks “to make a difference [by] providing mentorship programs and internships to women in high school and college, while funding scholarships for women in the community.”
The Barbie digital collectibles will be available on MattelCreations.com later this year.
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