Luca Trapanese and his daughter Alba are
the Italian ambassadors of the first Barbie with Down syndrome, launched by the giant Mattel within the
Barbie Fashionistas line,
created to allow an even greater number of boys and girls to see themselves reflected in Barbie, as well as making Barbie increasingly reflect the world around them.
Wearing a necklace representing the 21st chromosome, Barbie doll with Down syndrome
aims to inspire all boys and girls to tell more and more stories through play.
Luca Trapanese and his daughter Alba, Italian ambassadors for the first Barbie with Down syndrome @Mattel
Luca is the single father of Alba, a little girl with Down syndrome who was adopted in 2018. Always involved in social work, he founded A Ruota Libera Onlus, La Casa di Matteo and for many years has been carrying out a series of projects related to disabilities.
He is the author of Nata per te, a book that tells the story of Alba's adoption and their story together as a family with empathy and joy.
"Today is a special day for Alba and for children like her! It is very important for children to feel welcome in play and recognize themselves in it. Alba immediately recognized herself and wanted to play, creating many adventures. There are many ways we have give everyone the opportunity to feel included in daily life, for this I thank Mattel for this important intuition which has great social value.”
Barbie with Down syndrome expands the Fashionistas line that seeks to represent the complexity of people. From 'curvy' Barbie up to, in more recent years, the deaf doll, the one in a wheelchair and the one with a prosthesis to the leg.
The original, released in 1959, had long legs, a tiny waist, and flowing blonde hair.
According to a study by the University of South Australia, there was a one in 100,000 chance that a woman looked like a Barbie.
Hence the battle of various organizations for a doll more representative of real women.
In 2016, Barbie Curvy, Barbie Tall and Barbie Petite came out, as well as different skin tones to represent different ethnicities.
In this case, Mattel said it worked closely with the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) to ensure the doll accurately represented a person with Down syndrome.
Barbie also wears a pink necklace that represents the three tips of the 21st chromosome, the one that causes the syndrome.
"This means a lot to our community, who for the first time can play with a Barbie doll that looks like her," said association president Kandi Pickard.
To celebrate the launch of the doll and support the inclusion, visibility and understanding of people with Down syndrome, some European ambassadors were chosen, in addition to little Alba.
We are talking about model Ellie Goldstein, Model (UK), writer and city councilor Éléonore Laloux (France) and model and influencer Enya (Netherlands) who were immortalized in celebratory images and videos seeing the doll for the first time represents them.
