Mattel's newest Día de Muertos collection arrives with red satin, sugar-skull masks, and embroidery pulled from Mexican pottery.
When Mattel released its first Día de Muertos Barbie in 2019, it sold out almost immediately and resale prices climbed into the thousands of dollars. What started as a one-off has become an annual event due to Latino demand and doll collector demand: a doll that arrives every fall and gets debated every fall, by people who read it as a genuine tribute and by people who read it as a corporation selling our 'collective mourning' back to us. Both takes have held up for years.
The 2026 dolls just landed, and they are worth a look on their own terms because of the team who is behind them for years and new designers of Latino descent too.
The 2026 Barbie wears a deep-red satin gown with a mermaid skirt. The embroidery running across it draws on traditional Mexican pottery patterns, which is a beautiful take on Mexican aesthetics not the generic florals that usually stand in for "Mexican" on a mass-market product. A stunning skeletal ribcage motif sits over the bodice. The look finishes with a sugar-skull mask trimmed in sculpted roses.
Ken is in a deep red knee-length jacquard jacket with a sugar skull worked subtly into the weave, over a bone-printed black shirt and trousers. He gets his own skull mask and a removable top hat with a red rose.
Both retail at $81, both come with a certificate of authenticity, and both are Barbie Signature releases, Mattel's collector tier rather than the toy aisle. Through the years, Barbie collectors have demanded more!
Sofía Félix Poggi
The 2026 dolls are credited to Edna Vogel-Amezcua, with packaging by Charis Ceniseroz.
That's worth naming, because the line's design credit has historically belonged to Javier Meabe, the Mexican American designer who built the series and has spoken openly about what it means to him. "Every year when I sit down to design the new Día De Muertos dolls, there's a flood of emotions," he told NPR in 2022. "I'm honored and excited to represent this holiday that is so close to my own heart."
Two Latinas now have their names on the 2026 release.
Celebrating this year? Here's where to find Día de Muertos events across the U.S. We are working on a new list to be published by October 30, 2026!
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