Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Honk Kong Students Redesign Barbie

Aired November 14, 2001 - 09:49   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Now our "Life Goes On" segment, giving us all an opportunity to move away from the stories about war, anthrax, and disaster. This morning, we reintroduce you to Barbie. She's taking center stage again. She's been getting what you might call a creative makeover in Asia.

CNN's Andrew Brown shows us the results.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREW BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Here they are, flying down the catwalk, Barbies like you've never seen them before. Honk Kong students, determined to impress executives from Mattel, put together their own lineup of dolls based on an Asian theme. There was panda Barbie, traditional Chinese Barbies, Dragon's back Barbies.

PETER DEAN, HONG KONG POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY: It's just an opportunity for some local Hong Kong student designers to show the world -- Mattel in particular -- that design can happen in Hong Kong as it can anywhere else in the world.

BROWN: Barbie could certainly do with a boost. Worldwide sales for the doll dipped 9 percent in the third quarter, and in the United States, revenues have declined three straight quarters. Mattel is not saying what new outfits Barbie has up her sleeve, but the scope is wide.

PAULETTE BAZERMAN, MATTEL: She is that aspiration for a young girl to dream to be anything that she can be, whether it's the fashion model, president, astronaut.

BROWN: A lettuce! This Barbie is made almost entirely out of local vegetables. The design really grows on you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The pattern of the vegetable is very beautiful.

BROWN: Says Rumi Sit (ph), who came up with the vegetable concept.

Other students have been tapping the dark side of Barbie. Several of these models are flesh eating.

TIMOTHY TONG, STUDENT: They search for the insects or other animals at night.

BROWN: Not surprisingly, some students consider Barbie's body a major selling point.

TSUI WAH, STUDENT: I used the long, beautiful hair to become her dressing material.

BROWN: Will Mattel adopt that idea? Who knows? But if Christmas sales are strong, they'll have another beautiful figure to excite shareholders with.

Andrew Brown, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com