Review of Barbie Lunar New Year by Guo Pei, Mattel 2023 🐲

Not so long ago, the annual celebration of the Chinese New Year took place - Lunar New Year🐲 This pompous and bright Chinese tradition is not ignored by the Mattel company, which for several years has been delighting its fans with an exciting series of Barbie dolls dedicated to this celebration. And they help her in this - the best of the best, world-famous Chinese couturiers who embody ancient Chinese traditions in doll format with love and respect 🎎

The incredible Guo Pei, a Chinese couturier working in the world of haute couture, joined the creation of this doll, which was worked on during 2022, but was released in 2023. In cooperation with the designer of the Mattel team, Joyce Chen, this incredible doll appeared, which we will carefully and with pleasure examine today. But, first, let's take a small tour of Guo Pei's work in order to understand 100% exactly what contribution she made to the creation of the Barbie Lunar New Year 2023 doll. Guo Pei is one of the most famous couturiers in China, and in 2016 she was included in the hundred most influential people of the world according to the version of Time magazine. A large number of Western celebrities also adore Guo Pei's style of clothing and choose her outfits for the most solemn events.

The clothes of a talented couturier are not just clothes, they are works of art. Embroidery, based on the works of Chinese masters of the Qing Dynasty, fur, rhinestones, beads, exclusive materials, complex cut - these are all the hallmarks of Guo Pei.
The designer attaches special importance to national traditions, so her collections have such names as "Porcelain Dresses", "Dragon Story", and remind of the majestic civilization of ancient China. Embroidery ornaments do not just decorate clothes, but carry a sacred meaning.

The Barbie Lunar New Year 2023 doll belongs to the Gold Label and has a bright, festive packaging in traditional Chinese colors and ornaments. On the reverse side - a small history of creation and description of the doll.
The package includes a certificate of authenticity and a regular black model stand.

The doll looks incredibly elegant, the light skin tone contrasts with the bright outfit, and the overall image is complemented by a stylish Chinese hairstyle. The inspiration for this look was a design from one of Guo Pei's past collections. The doll is draped in classic Chinese royal blue with luxurious dragon embroidery, symbolizing strength and luck.

In our opinion, one of Mattel's most attractive molds was chosen for the doll's face - the Mari mold, in which Asian features are combined with youth and freshness. And in fact, the face of the doll looks as fresh as the morning dawn, and together with high-quality, non-pixelated, complex makeup and expressive brown eyes on light skin, the face attracts the eye and makes you want to look at it again and again. However, it should be noted that the doll has a very varnished hairstyle, the varnish also got on the face, due to which dust particles may appear on it immediately after unpacking. Therefore, we recommend wiping the doll's face immediately so that the first impression is not spoiled.
In the photo, you can see a cute, slightly smiling face from different angles☺️

The doll's accessories include gold earrings and an interesting golden fluffy ring.
The earrings are quite difficult to remove due to the large stoppers inside the head.

The fluffy designer ring has an interesting, "unfinished", hook-like shape that allows you to wear it on any, even unseparated, doll's finger. You can also admire the neat golden manicure on the doll's fingers.

Finally, we came to the most interesting part - the doll's outfit😍
The suit in the traditional royal blue color consists of two parts - a jacket and a skirt. The main material is similar to dense shiny satin. Both the top and the skirt are decorated with rich mega-quality repeating embroidery, in which we can see a majestic dragon soaring above the forests in the sky among the clouds🐲🐉 The embroidery is done using gold thread, which shines and gives a festive look to the whole composition.

The jacket has a complex design and three-quarter sleeves. The edges of the jacket are finished with gold braid. Fasteners are metal buttons.
The inside deserves special attention: the perfectly made lining completely hides the entire "kitchen" of masterful embroidery.

The skirt also has a lining, as well as sewn-in panties that prevent the skirt from "jumping" on the doll. The neat belt of the skirt fastens with a metal button.

The doll's fragile legs are decorated with golden pointed-toed pumps.
The heels very confidently withstand the weight of the doll and do not bend.

The body of the doll is the lightest skin tone and very fragile - the model, Model Muse, has only a few basic joints.

If there is a desire to make the girl mobile - Made to Move bodies from Victoria Looks (tall body) or from the new MTM tennis player (body of standard height) are ideal for hybridization, and the body from Andra Looks with a short hairstyle is also suitable.

Neko's body is not suitable for this doll, it is noticeably darker.

This is what a girl looks like on the MTM body of a tennis player and with hair washed from varnish. The hair is thick, well sewn and neatly parted.

The outfit fits very well on a mobile body of standard height, only the fastening on the skirt requires a little more effort than usual😜

The shoes are great to put on and hold, although with a careful eye you can see that the feet of yoga do not have such an exquisite rise as the legs of model bodies.

And, of course, the fluffy ring is great to put on and hold ☺️

So, thank you all for your attention, for your patience with longrids and for your interest in incredible dolls 💝
We hope that this girl will definitely find her fans among those who did not see her in the promo photo🎎🐲

Best regards,
The DollsHobby.club team