Barbie x Izzy Wheels

Earlier this year, Mattel expanded its Barbie Fashionistas line with new dolls, including one with a prosthetic limb and another in a wheelchair. While there hasn’t been a wheelchair in the Barbie collection for some years, the Share a Smile Becky doll (1997) has long been a mascot in the office of Izzy Wheels — a Dublin-based company that manufactures designer covers for wheelchair wheels. Now, Mattel and Izzy Wheels are teaming up.

The Barbie x Izzy Wheels collaboration is a series of four designs that can be sized to fit any manual wheelchair, along with miniature versions that are scaled to fit the Barbie with Wheelchair doll in the Fashionistas line.

“Having a Barbie in a wheelchair meant so much to me as a little girl, and I love that a whole new generation of kids with disabilities can play with a Barbie that represents them,” says Izzy Keane, co-founder of Izzy Wheels.

Born with Spina Bifida and paralyzed from her waist down, Keane and sister Ailbhe launched to the company in hopes of inspiring other wheelchair users to express their personalities by transforming a medical device into an element of fashion.

Designs for the Barbie x Izzy Wheels collection come from London-based fashion label ART SCHOOL, along with artists Malika FavreHattie Stewart, and Annu Kilpeläineninto. Covers will be available at izzywheels.com beginning Aug. 28.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.

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