In the harsh fluorescent toy store lights, Barbie glowed — her luscious blonde hair, thin cinched waist, and perfectly tanned skin created one of the first beauty standards I was ever aware of seeing. Would I look like that in the future, I asked into the void at age nine. Then my eyes landed on her.
Sasha, a Bratz doll, wore a sparkly silver mini dress with matching heels and clear bangle jewelry. In her, I saw myself, the Black girl standing in a sea of white faces. But Sasha differed from me at the time. She was powerfully standing in her individuality instead of feeling ashamed of it. I grabbed Sasha, said goodbye to Barbie, and thanked her for the memories. Then, I immersed myself in the world of Bratz.
Sasha was my gateway to the Bratz universe: I collected many versions of her, along with Cloe, Yasmin, and Jade, the other original Bratz dolls. I watched Bratz movies like Bratz: Rock Angelz (2005), Bratz Passion 4 Fashion – Diamondz (2006), and Bratz Girlz Really Rock (2008). I even had a Bratz TV. One of my guilty pleasures was ordering PC and GameCube games online without my parents’ permission, which I justified by wanting a game that was meant for me. Even though I did enjoy playing video games with my brothers, I was tired of always watching them play Mortal Kombat or Soul-Kaliber.
Bratz impacted a generation of kids who are now adults, offering them an alternative way of self-expression and an ever-growing world to escape into. In the past couple of years, the brand has experienced a resurgence — in 2021, the company launched its 20th-anniversary collection, bringing back the iconic original versions of Sasha, Jade, Cloe, and Yasmin. The latest iteration of that regrowth comes with a brand new Bratz game, Flaunt Your Fashion, out November 4, 2022. The Girls with the Passion for Fashion live on, as do the fans who grew up with them.
Years ago, I found my place in the Bratz Rock Angelz (2005) PC game, where I explored the fictional town of Stylesville and performed simple objectives like shopping for wardrobes, taking photos, and organizing magazine layouts. Rewatching the gameplay as a 22-year-old makes me realize part of the gameplay I thought was fun, playing as Jade and interning at Your Thing magazine, was actually a very toxic work environment run by Burdine Maxwell. After three hours of interning, Maxwell fires Jade, and the Bratz girls excitedly decide to create their fashion magazine. The game left an impression on me, showing me that I could create my own space and opportunities when things don’t go according to plan.
Now, I can do it all over again. Video game publisher Outright Games shared that the game will follow Yasmin, Chloe, Jade, and Sasha as they pursue a career in fashion media. A trailer shows the Bratz girls playing stylist, attending fashion shows, interviewing characters for the fictional Bratz Magazine, and competing in photography challenges, all objectives reminiscent of past Bratz games. Could Flaunt Your Fashion tie together everything that made the Bratz games and cartoon movies so enjoyable? What is the legacy of this franchise, and what makes Bratz more relevant than ever in 2022?
The Nostalgic Sounds of the Bratz Universe
The Bratz soundtracks are outstanding. Even if you do not recognize the artist's name or song title, hearing any of the songs will bring back a flood of memories if you are a Bratz fan.
In Bratz Forever Diamondz, Jade, Yasmin, Sasha, Cloe, and new friend Sharidan strut down a runway in original fashion designs. “You’ve Got It,” a confidence-boosting anthem, sets the mood. It’s one of the many outstanding Bratz original songs with vocals from Lauren Evans and Elizabeth Ashley Saunig (now Elizabeth Ashley Gerrard).
“One Of A Kind,” and “Make You Wanna Dance,” also credited to Evans and Saunig, remind me of Destiny’s Child, Amerie, Ciara, and The Cheetah Girls. There were even alternative songs sung by Evans like “So Good” and “I Don’t Care” from the Rock Angelz album. The songs were a mixture of ‘90s and 2000s R&B and rock sounds, a prescient examination of popular music in that era.
“Rock Angelz was an album that refined pop/rock at the time,” says Nyasha Oliver, a copywriter from London who has been a longtime Bratz fan. “I'm pretty sure my sister heard me listening to the album and thought it was sung by an artist, not the doll franchise.” Nyasha even attempted to persuade classmates into liking the music, but operating covertly so they wouldn’t find out it was a Bratz album. “The albums Genie Magic and Forever Diamondz had more of a pop/R&B and hip-hop sound, so it was easier for girls in my school who heard me and my friend to listen to the music like it more. If they knew it was Bratz, we would get picked on for it.”
The franchise saw its nostalgic sounds resonate with both fans and strangers to Bratz. In 2005, the Rock Angelz album charted at no. 79 on the Billboard 200. The song “So Good” was even nominated in the Outstanding Original Song — Children's/Animated category of the Daytime Emmy Awards in 2007.
Though Nyasha felt she was outgrowing the Bratz music at 14, she never forgot about the soundtrack. “Even now on social media I see a lot of people referencing the songs,” she says, “and [I] immediately want to listen to the albums.”
Nearly 15 years after their release, several Bratz songs and discussions have appeared on social media apps like TikTok, like this one of Bratz fan @ooohbratz showcasing the Bratz theme song, or this one of @simplysimone praising the Bratz brand for staying relevant while the Bratz theme song plays in the background. Their musical impact lives on when people remember these iconic Bratz bops.
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The Passion for Fashion
The fundamental story of Bratz, of course, is about a passion for unique personal style. That emphasis is a huge part of why the franchise was so enjoyable — you could explore fashion vicariously through less expensive dolls as opposed to pricey designers.
Meanwhile, Bratz fashion mirrored the culture and foreshadowed it. The outfits worn by Sasha, Cloe, Jade, and Yasmin were inspired by Y2K fashion and Black culture trends of the ‘90s and 2000s. Think Baby Phat, bandanas, scarves, cool sunglasses, glitter, and rhinestone-covered crop tops, and low-rise jeans — that was the look.
Opal, a 24-year-old disability technician from Virginia, remembers feeling seen by Bratz because the franchise catered to her interest in fashion and makeup as a kid in an accessible way.
“My mom used to give me a time limit because I'd spend all day making different outfits and combining different colors,” she says. “As an adult, I have a specific sense of style that I feel is tied to my personality, and I think I can connect that back to playing those Bratz games.”
Madison, a 26-year-old artist from Michigan, also took an interest in Bratz doll fashion, which stood in stark difference to the Barbie looks at the time.
“I found them unique,” Madison says. “I liked their much more modern sense of fashion, and their stylized look.” The facial features and makeup of the dolls were cool and unique, especially the signature big eyes with winged eyeliner. She’s excited to see these fashion and style elements return in the new game. “I’m just looking forward to picking up where I left off, playing with my girls again, in a modernized setting, and seeing what I can do next.”
Since fashion trends often go out of style and then swiftly return more powerful, the style associated with Bratz is trending again, making the dolls seem more relevant than ever. Look at Yasmin’s puffy sleeves and patterned knee-high boots, Sasha’s all-red outfit adorned with a matching bandana, Jade’s printed undershirt and high-waisted jeans, and Cloe’s matching blue set and sunglasses.
These styles are all over TikTok and mass media; most of these styles wouldn’t look out of place on Euphoria characters Maddy Perez and Cassie Howard. Contemporary street style echoes these iconic Bratz styles as well.
The History and Legacy of Bratz
Let us not forget where Bratz’s Y2K-inspired fashion originated from: Black culture. Since its creation, the Bratz brand has been inclusive by creating dolls that were representative of its target demographic.
Bratz was created by former Mattel (the company that created Barbie) employee Carter Bryant in 2001 for Micro-Games America Entertainment. The CEO of MGA Entertainment at the time, Isaac Larian, wasn’t sure about the dolls at first, until the sketch was shown to his daughter Jasmin, then 11, W Magazine reported in a thorough feature by Beatrice Hazlehurst from 2021; Jasmin told W that the dolls reflected the diversity in race of the MGA team. When buyers were skeptical of buying dolls with non-white skin colors, preferring the blonde white doll Cloe, Larian pushed back: “They come together,” he said, per W. “You either buy them all, or none.”
The dolls were not free of criticism once they were available to purchase. Many individuals thought Bratz were too risqué for young girls, and even today, the Bratz brand is confronted with critics who don’t believe the dolls are good role models. (As the W article notes, racial bias is inherent in those views.)
But that criticism points to the strength and importance of Bratz in terms of representation. Bratz dolls were not solely targeted at white young girls like any other popular commercial item, and young white girls were not the only ones buying Bratz dolls. Bratz having a Black doll, Sasha, allowed my younger self to feel seen and included. Even in the movies and games, Sasha was voiced by two Black women, Tia Mowry and Dorla Bell, and Yasmin was primarily voiced by an Asian American voice actor, Dionne Quan.
Many Black and POC animated characters are still not voiced by POC voice actors, a recent example being Diane Nguyen, a Vietnamese character from Bojack Horseman, who was voiced by white actress Alison Brie. These details matter, and the choices made by the Bratz brand did not go unnoticed. Paris Williams, a 24-year-old policy officer in the U.K., felt seen by Bratz dolls as well.
“Bratz allowed me to see a Black/POC doll that had makeup like white dolls,” Paris says. Their narratives in the games and movies also felt more relatable to her childhood. “I really valued the story behind the dolls and characters as opposed to Barbie, which felt like a typical white girl.”
Despite these positives, Bratz didn’t always get it right. The Bratz dolls were inclusive in representing various ethnicities but not always culturally inclusive, for example, having realistic Black hairstyles. Nyasha hopes the new game will make improvements with Sasha, in particular. Their diversity could also extend further, Nyasha says. “For Sasha as the Black girl, she needs hairstyles like braids, twists, locs, and wigs.”
In March, Bratz posted about their collaboration with GCDS with a picture of a new Sasha doll with braids, so hopefully the new game will showcase more Black hairstyles.
Bratz has also responded to pop culture trends in recent years with its active social media presence. The official Bratz Twitter account often addresses trending topics, like their replica of Cara Delevingne acting as Megan Thee Stallion’s stylist/assistant/bodyguard/best friend at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards and their recreation of the iconic “Do You Like Scary Movies?” scene from Scream (1994).
The Bratz brand has also used its popular platform to address injustices and tragedies, including the 2020 murder of George Floyd and the more recent passing of Mahsa Amini. A Bratz Instagram post from September 26th reads, “Freedom of expression for all women. We stand with Iranian women and all women who face oppression. 💕🇮🇷 #mahsaamini #iammahsa.” Brands benefit from seeming in tune with contemporary culture, and Bratz has a keen awareness of how to do so without coming across as trite or insensitive.
The nostalgic sound, trendy fashions, and inclusion all contributed to the greatness of the Bratz dolls, games, and movies. The sounds of Bratz transport me back into a time that was simple, where iPhones were a rarity and playing outside until the street lights came on was the norm. The music is timeless but also current, as if the songs were created to withstand our quickly changing music trends. The fashions connect me to my current adulthood, while also taking me back to my childhood habits of flipping through dELiA*s magazines and putting Limited Too and Juicy Couture items on my holiday wishlist.
Bratz was never catering to a certain demographic to check a box on a diversity checklist. Bratz was, and still is, genuine, reflecting more of our stories and dreams of what I could be. Will I become a successful fashion journalist in Flaunt Your Fashion? We’ll see. But rest assured I’ll get the same thing I desperately craved when I was nine years old: a world of my own in which to peacefully escape.
