MANILA, Philippines — The newest Barbie doll in toy company Mattel's Styled by Design series is a Filipina one created by Filipino-American Carlyle Nuera.
The Filipina doll by Nuera, lead designer of the Barbie Signature collection, arrives in time for the celebration of the Filipino-American History Month.
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Barbie Fan Club Members were able to get a look at the doll a day before its public reveal on October 10.
The doll's overall look is inspired by the haute couture style of the Philippines as the morena Barbie wears a modern corset top, butterfly Terno sleeves, a Malong-like skirt, a sun crown adorned with sampugita jasmine flowers, Bakya platforms shaped like a Bahay Kubo, and Batok tattoos on her arms.
Nuera said in an Instagram post the doll was "an opportunity to do something meaningful for my people in the spirit of representation," admitting that being Filipino was his most foundational identity.
"I am so hyped for this Barbie to finally be out in the world and hopefully make the anaks feel seen, represented, inspired and proud," Nuera added.
The designer considers the new Filipina Barbie as the little sister to the Mutya Barbie he designed in 2015, where the ate is demure and responsible, while the younger sister is always galavanting like him and borrows ate's Janggay jewelry. In fact, the new Barbie wears the same bracelet of Mutya Barbie.
The new Filipina Barbie doll is available for pre-order on the Mattel website for $100 (P5,700).
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