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Barbie x Keiichi Tanaami. Hot Wheels x Daniel Arsham. Masters of the Universe x Virgil Abloh. Uno x Shantell Martin, Takashi Murakami, Gary Baseman, Kartell . . . These collaborations might sound like an Andy Warhol pop fever dream, but theyre very real within Mattel Creations, the toy powerhouses hub for innovation and premium collectibles, which is celebrating its fifth anniversary as it continues carving out all-new business for the company. In February 2020, when the Cybertruck was more an anomalous conceptual piece of pop culture than a concrete political statement, Mattel was celebrating its 75th anniversary. The toy company launched its experimental wingand its first official producta 1:10 scale remote-control Cybertruck created in consultation with Teslas chief designer. The replica was priced at $400, could cruise up to 25 miles per hour, and even came with a cracked window decal. It was hobby-grade, large-scale, and full-control, Chris Down, Mattels chief design officer, says. It was absolutely beautiful, but not something that you would see at the local Walmart. Within three or four hours, it completely sold out. Chris Down [Photo: courtesy Mattel] In doing so, Down says it became the first real proof point that a high-end collectible platform could be viable for Mattel. It showed that the brand could connect with enthusiasts with more spending power than its average customer by creating high-quality toys with a luxe packaging and unboxing experience. And that was prescient. According to Circana, global toy market sales declined 0.6% in 2024. At the same time, sales of collectible toys increased 5%, accounting for 18% of overall volumes. Toy sales have been on the decline over the past couple of years at large, but adults have been buying more for themselves, a phenomenon that kicked into gear around the pandemic, and has only increased since. Down says that adult consumers have become Mattels fastest-growing consumer segment. Sales at the toy purveyor were down 1% last year, but perhaps it has a secret weapon in Mattel Creations, which a rep for the brand says has risen to become the companys fourth-largest domestic retail point, and its fifth-largest globally. [Photo: courtesy Mattel] MSCHF AND MASHUPS The brand within a brand takes its name from the sign that hung above the companys original 1945 garage/workshop in Los Angeles. When Mattel launched Creations, Down says the goal was to hearken back to a creative time of product ideation and business models, offering a reset of how we think about opportunities. And its one that Mattels employees apparently love as much as toy collectors do. The core Creations team is made up of 20 to 25 people overseeing 150 to 200 high-quality limited-edition products annually, from exclusives like that first Cybertruck to artist collaborations, mashups, and more. But that team is also a conduit within Mattel HQ in El Segundo, California, to the companys larger beloved brands like Barbie, Hot Wheels, and Masters of the Universe. And the focus is on craft. From a design/product development and a care point of view, we put more into every single one of those items than we do on a $1 die-cast car that sells . . . half a billion units across the board, Down says. It’s good for Mattel, it’s good for the fans, its good for the creators. The teams internally love the stuff because it also showcases some of their most interesting work. Barbie x Tanaami [Photo: courtesy Mattel] That includes, say, a hypnotic, kaleidoscopic Barbie from pop art icon Keiichi Tanaami, alongside his Uno card deck and Magic 8-Ball (a life-size version of the Barbie was featured in his Tokyo career retrospective); a rusty, Frankensteined Hot Wheels Not Wheels by art collective MSCHF, created in homage to the beat-up but reliable car that many drivers start off with, as Mattel puts it; various Monster High mashups, with partners like Squid Games and Beetlejuice; and exclusives for the Barbie, Hot Wheels, Monster High, and Masters of the Universe fan clubs, which Mattel Creations has helped grow over the past five years. LeBron James Ken doll [Photo: courtesy Mattel] Reps for the brand declined to say how much it all contributes to Mattels bottom line, but the effort appears to be worth its weight in marketing goldparticularly when a product like the LeBron James Ken doll goes viral, as it did earlier this year. THE ART OF THE DROP While some Mattel Creations toys are sold outside of the brand’s dedicated site, the artist collaborations are entirely exclusive to it, and they have been a signature part of the innovation lab since the start. How do they come together? Organically, Down says. Mattel Creations works 12 to 24 months out, and the collaborations begin as conversations. They may never turn into anything, Down says. It’s not something that you can force. Barbie x Mark Ryden [Photo: courtesy Mattel] Other times, its kismet. Take painter Mark Ryden. Down says Barbie was a muse to the artist and had played a role in some of his pop surrealist creations, so collaborating on a set of dolls was effortless. Likewise with Masters of the Universe and Japanese artist Madsaki, who Down says learned English while watching the cartoons. Masters of the Universe x Madsaki [Photo: courtesy Mattel] The artist dictates the brand and format theyd like to create withinand ultimately the artist brings their fan base to the subsequent product, which no doubt is a boon to Mattel. Given the experimental nature of Mattel Creations, the product runs are sometimes as small as a few hundred and go up to the tens of thousands. Styling toy launches as drops kicks up the fervor, and has become a signature of the brand, with more than 100 over the past five years. Barbie x Mark Ryden [Photo: courtesy Mattel] On occasion, Mattel Creations has even tested ideas with crowdfundingsometimes to success in the case of, say, the WWE Ultimate Edition New Generation Arena, and sometimes not, in the case of Jurassic World the Gates. For the latter, that might mean 1,600 disappointed dino franchise fans, but for Mattel, fewer unsold units sitting in a warehouse (read: fewer duds). Not everything works, Down says, but a lot of what we put on Creations has exceeded our expectations in terms of how quickly it sells throughand how much it sells through. Monster High x Squid Game [Photo: courtesy Mattel] WHITE SPACE This year Mattel Creations debuted its second live Apple-style annual event, Revealed, where it announced what fans could expect from the year to come. Down says the brand is focused on new ways of engaging with those fans, as well as expanding the type of creators its partnering with on new products. Ultimately, It’s been a compelling creative experiment, he says. Our marketers, our folks in digital and e-comm, and our business leaders are also excited by it . . . because it represents white spaceand it fuels the rest of brand health and actually creates interest, where people start to realize the dimensionality of how our brands show up.
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E-Commerce
The color of the summer is here, and it started with a chocolate bar. Pistachio (both the food and the color) is all the rage right now. The nut entered the limelight over the past several months after various food creators on TikTok popularized Dubai chocolate, an indulgent chocolate bar filled with pistachio cream, tahini, and shredded phyllo dough. This spring, Dubai chocolate officially made its way into the mainstream, appearing as a cookie at Crumbl, a shake at Shake Shack, a chocolate bar at Trader Joes, a donut at Krispy Kreme, and a returning latte flavor at Dunkin. [Photo: Patislove] Demand for Dubai chocolate has spiked so high that pistachio producers in Iran exported 40% more nuts to the United Arab Emirates in the six months leading to March 2025 than they did in the entire 12 months before. Some stores have had to limit sales of the bars due to disruptions of the global pistachio supply chain. But it turns out that for customers in the U.S., theres a bonus to the trend besides an influx of tasty treats: The nut is relatively shielded from potential tariffs. Come what may, chances are that its about to be a very nuttyand very greensummer. A mechanical shaker harvests pistachio nuts on a farm in Californias San Joaquin Valley. [Photo: Ed Young/Design Pics Editorial/Universal Images Group/Getty Images] America dominates the pistachio market The U.S. is the top producer of pistachios globally, accounting for about 75% of the worlds supply, according to Zachary Fraser, president and CEO of American Pistachio Growers (APG). The second-largest producer is Iran. The 2024-2025 U.S. pistachio crop harvest, Fraser says, was 1.1 billion pounds in-shellthe third-largest harvest in the history of the industry. So far, Fraser reports, the Trump administrations tariffs have not had an immediate impact on the nut’s production. The industry is closely monitoring tariffs as the situation evolves, and we are active in the conversations with government officials to stay on top of the changing dynamics, Fraser says. Continuing to invest in market development and new countries to drive demand is part of that strategy. From APGs perspective, theres been a marked rise in interest in pistachios over the past several months. Recognizing the trending Dubai chocolate bar, its been exciting to see the popularity of pistachios grow across many other food and beverage products, Fraser says. Were seeing pistachios incorporated across baked goods, spreads, snacks, ice cream and more. [Photo: Shake Shack] Pistachio goes beyond the bar Pistachios arent staying confined to sweet treats, either. As the nuts flavor profile has risen into stardom, so, too, has its signature sage-green hue. In the past two months or so, pistachio green has exploded from the chocolate wrapper to fashion runways, mood boards, and even interior design. In March, Homes & Gardens called the hue designers go-to color for spring and summer 2025. In May, Harpers Bazaar noted that the gastronomic shade defined recent fashion shows by Miu Miu, Prada, Alexander McQueen, Gucci, and others. The average American is also becoming enamored with the color. According to Pinterest global data from January to March 2025, searches for pistachio chocolate bar surged 1,989%, while searches for pistachio outfit ideas jumped 361% and those for pistachio green weddings were up 285%. Sydney Stanback, global trends and insights lead at Pinterest, says pistachios are “having a major moment” on the app, noting, What started in the kitchen is now spilling over into style, with this earthy green inspiring everything from homemade desserts to intentional fashion choices.”
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E-Commerce
Antonia Saint Dunbar, cofounder of the period underwear brand Thinx, loves the way she feels when she’s wearing heels. “It has a divine geometry,” she says. “It creates a perfect pitch for your body, elongating your leg, creating an anatomical architectural balance.” Saint Dunbar isn’t alone: Even as society has become more casual, making sneakers and Birkenstocks acceptable to wear in more situations, many women still love the way they look and feel while wearing heels. But sometimes this means compromising comfort for style. While running Thinx in heels, Saint Dunbar says she often had to scan the room for a place to sit because her feet hurt so much, and took cabs so she wouldn’t have to walk. Part of the reason that heels are so uncomfortable is that many early shoe designers were men. They designed heels they believed would make women look attractive, but had no idea how the shoes would feel on the wearers feet. Today, women aren’t willing to compromise on comfort. This is particularly true after the pandemic, Saint Dunbar says. Stuck at home, women stopped wearing heels and turned to more comfortable footwear. Now painful heels feel even more unacceptable. The good news is that there’s a new generation of shoe brands focused on designs that make them more comfortable, including Sneex, Nomasei, and Marion Parke. Saint Dunbar herself is among these founders. In 2016, while still running Thinx, she launched Antonia Saint NY, which creates more comfortable heels. She’s taken the silhouette of a classic stiletto and added a layer of padding inside to provide better arch support and toe cushioning. She’s just relaunched all of her shoes with a slimmer version of the padding to offer the same level of comfort with less bulk. As we head into summer, we’ve been testing out the most comfortable shoes for everything from weddings to company outings. Here are five we love. [Photo: Antonia Saint NY] Antonia Saint NY Vicki DOrsay, $286 This shoe has a 2-inch heel that gives you just enough lift. Its outfitted with an updated padding system called SoftSurround. There is a layer of cushioning within the entire upper, with a special focus on the toes and the back of the heels. There is also a rubberized outsole for better traction. The outer is made of a soft Nappa leather. It’s designed to help you get through a full day without any pain. [Photo: Sézane] Sézane Gloria Sandals, $215 These strappy sandals offer the vintage aesthetic that Sézane is known for, featuring an elegant circle design. They’re versatile, since they can be dressed up or down, looking just as nice with jeans as with more formal summer dresses. With a 2.75-inch heel, they offer height without leaving you with achey legs or calves. [Photo: Margaux] Margaux City Sandal, $375 As their name implies, these shoes are designed for pounding the pavement. They feature a 2.5-inch block heel that is very walkable, and crisscross straps that are placed to make your feet feel supported. The insole features foam padding for cushioning. They come in a wide range of colors to match your outfits. [Photo: Nomasei] Nomasei Baghera, $450 Founded by former shoe designers at Chloe, Nomasei wants to bring comfort to the luxury shoe experience. The brands Baghera sandals are meant to provide all the leg-lengthening effects of a high heel, bu in a much more comfortable silhouette. They feature a 2.3-inch wide block heel, with an insole made of memory foam, lining made of goat leather, and an outsole made of calf leather. [Photo: Rothy’s] Rothys Knot Sandal, $189 If you’re concerned about the environment, Rothy’s is a good option. The brand was first known for its flats, but it has expanded into new silhouettes, including heels. These sandals are made of eight ocean-bound plastic bottles that have been recycled into a knot material. With a 2-inch block heel and a plush footbed, they’re designed to be worn all day. And as a bonus, theyre machine washable, which extends their life.
Category:
E-Commerce
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