Yasmin. Jade. Cloe. Sasha. The four girls who started it all.
25 years ago, Bratz stepped onto the scene, bringing something new to the doll aisle after decades of dominance in pink.
“Bratz came about at a time when it almost reflected culture,” says Josh Hackbarth, Chief Marketing Officer of MGA Entertainment. “It responded to what was happening in the market in a very different way, where it wasn’t necessarily setting up an aspirational vision in doll play. It was really reflecting on what was there.”
Pitched to MGA by designer Carter Bryant on the cusp of the new millennium, Bratz was a hit, albeit one with some tumultuous early years, leading to a prolonged legal scuffle that could fill volumes on its own. But what played out in courtrooms was eclipsed by the joy happening in playrooms as kids of the era embraced something new. The “Core Four” became iconic, and have since been joined by dozens of new faces since 2001. More recently, their ranks have expanded with some of pop culture’s biggest names. Over the past few years, the brand has launched dolls inspired by iconic films like Mean Girls and Clueless, plus culture-defining celebrities like Kylie Jenner, Karol J, and most recently, Tyla. Every collaboration and new launch features the same DNA:
Brattitude, authenticity, inclusivity, and the biggest of them all: A Passion for Fashion.
“We start off every product with a simple question: Does this feel unmistakably Bratz?” Hackbarth says. To celebrate the silver anniversary, the Bratz Pack went couture with an ongoing collaboration with different high-fashion artists, beginning with Rodarte, who worked with MGA on runway-ready editions of Sasha and Cloe.
“Fashion has always been our first language,” says Hackbarth, “so collaborating with couture designers felt like the perfect fit.”
Hackbarth credits Jasmin Larian Hekmat, President and Creative Director of Bratz, for driving the brand. “She grew up with the brand and also built one of the most globally recognized fashion labels [Cult Gaia],” Hackbarth explains. “She brings this blend of authenticity that we’re very fortunate to have.”
Larian Hekmat has had a huge impact on Bratz from the beginning. Not only did she grow up with the brand, but she also grew up with MGA Entertainment as the daughter of the company’s Founder and CEO, Isaac Larian. Yasmin, one of the “Core Four,” is named after her.
“What started as a bold idea 25 years ago exploded into a full-blown cultural movement,” said Larian Hekmat, in a statement heralding this year’s celebration. “Today, Bratz isn’t just surviving, it’s thriving and continuing to push boundaries with style, confidence, and attitude, sparking creativity, and proving that when you stay bold and true to yourself, you don’t just follow culture… You lead it. I’m beyond excited for what’s next as we celebrate this milestone, shake up the fashion world, and keep pushing boundaries for the next 25 years and beyond.”
The past few years for Bratz have focused on innovation. Last winter, MGA Entertainment dropped its first Bratz-themed unboxing collection, called Bratziez. The pint-sized bag charms sold out immediately, with subsequent series doing the same.
“I think what’s important is we’re not trying to re-create 2001,” says Hackbarth, “We’re trying to reinterpret what made Bratz special for that audience. How do we reinterpret that for today? Our core values haven’t changed.”
What has changed, he notes, is the way people discover brands. In 2001, kids learned about toys by visiting toy departments, browsing at the local Toys “R” Us, seeing TV commercials, or from friends. Today, the world of social media brings everything right to your fingertips. Bratz has a thriving TikTok page, with 3.6 million followers, that responds in real time to global trends and current events.
“We don’t just participate in the conversations, we help create them,” Hackbarth says. Beyond recent collabs with The Oodie, Wet Brush, and Zepeto, the brand hosted a month-long pop-up at the legendary FAO Schwarz flagship in New York City, complete with a Bratz x Tyla meet-and- greet.
One of the brand’s newest launches is Bratz Chatz, a podcast featuring candid conversations with those shaping culture. It’s hosted by Yasmin, Sasha, Cloe, and Jade — who are animated — while the guests are live-action. And that’s not all that MGA has planned.
“The goal is to make sure that 25 years from now, [kids are] discovering Bratz in ways that feel authentic to their generation,” Hackbarth says.
The “Core Four” may have started the movement, but the passion for fashion lives on.
Stay on the Pulse of Play!
A version of this feature appears in The Toy Book‘s 2026 Fall Toy & Licensing Preview Issue. Read the full issue here!
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