New Barbie Ad Features a Fabulous First

Barbie, long the at-times controversial dominion of little girls everywhere, looks to be courting another, more unlikely group in Mattel's latest iteration of the doll, a collaboration with luxury Italian fashion house Moschino. The Moschino Barbie sold out in less than an hour when she debuted last week, reports the Washington Post, at a price tag of $150 for each of the 700 limited-edition dolls. But that's not what everyone's buzzing about. For the first time ever, a boy is the star of the Barbie commercial. "Moschino Barbie is so fierce!" declares the blond mohawked boy as he places a tiny, sparkling gold and black leather purse on his doll's arm. He later holds a mini black phone up to her ear and says, "It's for you," and winks.

"Mattel is finally acknowledging the fact that boys play with Barbies," reports the San Francisco Chronicle, while Gawker calls the move "progress" and "common sense" and the Post calls the boy a "trailblazer." Apparently the boy is the mini-me of Moschino's also-mohawked Creative Director Jeremy Scott, who tells People, "The thing I love about Barbie is that she is the ultimate muse and inspired me to become a designer." (Mattel was left apologizing for its inept female computer engineer Barbie last year.)