Mattel Designer Bill Greening Channels Longtime Passion for Barbie into Designs By Writer and Contributor Emily McGinn
Greening helped design this Barbie Looks line from 2021
Bill Greening, principal designer for Barbie Signature, has spent the last 25 years at Mattel producing bold looks for Barbie. As a member of the Barbie Signature team — a group of designers dedicated to producing Barbie and Ken collector items — since 2006, he has contributed to lines such as The Barbie Looks series and the long-running classic Holiday Collection.
However, Greening’s interest in Barbie started long before he became a designer at Mattel. Greening recalls playing with Barbies in the 1970s when he was young and he began his own collection of Barbie dolls in 1988. His hobby drove him to pursue a degree in fashion design, which guided him to a designer position at Mattel.
Greening’s love for Barbie began at a young age, starting the 1970s when he began playing with Barbies in his hometown of Orange, Calif.
Still a Barbie collector himself, Greening now creates pieces targeted at an adult audience who share his passion for collecting. He looks for inspiration in the current and the modern, finding ways to adapt both retro themes and new trends to Barbie designs.
“If the design is from my own imagination, inspiration can come from anywhere — current fashion trends, movies, TV, music, historical research, etc.,” Greening says. “A designer is constantly looking at pop culture and taking mental notes.”
Some of Greening’s design projects are based on existing characters or pop culture icons, meaning he must find a way to downsize the look to a doll-sized scale. This process can present unique challenges since designing for Barbie is much different from designing life-sized clothing.
“It’s pretty tricky,” Greening says. “Sometimes fabrics have to be thinner to work for Barbie. Velvet works great life size but might be too bulky and a thick material for miniature Barbie.”
However, Greening enjoys these projects, such as one of his recent ventures in which he designed dolls that represented rock-and-roll celebrities Stevie Nicks and Tina Turner. His design projects allow him to contribute his own touch as a designer and collector to the multigenerational Barbie tradition.
Tina Turner Barbie
Stevie Nicks Barbie
“I hope my designs brighten someone’s day,” Greening says. “I receive lots of nice feedback on social media when I post some of my early work. It’s nice when young adults comment their favorite doll they received as a kid for a birthday or a holiday. I frequently see adult collectors at doll shows and conventions, and it’s rewarding when they remark how much a doll means to them or how much they appreciate the work I do.”
Barbie has had a whirlwind year amid the resounding success of “Barbie” (2023), which hit theaters in July and has since grossed more than $1.44 billion globally, according to Statista. Greening has enjoyed seeing the resurgence of appreciation for the Barbie brand, its ability to appeal to both children and adults and the powerful impact that Barbie has had on others as well as himself.
“For kids, Barbie is part of imaginative play, making up storylines and adventures for her to go on,” Greening says. “I think in a world of technology, using your imagination is still very important. As an adult designer and collector, I love that Barbie evolves and each doll is like a mini time capsule of fashion, beauty and cultural trends. Barbie constantly inspires me, and it’s wonderful to see how she has inspired others as well.”
Bio:
Emily McGinn is a writer based in the Los Angeles area. As a graduate with a journalism degree from California Baptist University, she enjoys writing about a variety of topics from lifestyle to news, especially in her areas of specialty, environmental science and political science.
