A message from Tyren Redd, Creative Director and Photographer of Barbie Brandy
"Let's make the issue of race no longer a issue of race, lets answer the big time question of 'what is beautiful' because beauty is within us all," said Redd. "It's in short hair, it's in long hair, it's in kinky hair or no hair at all. I want for little girls of color to continue to see active representation of beauty idealized on all platforms even with a doll. That is Barbie Brandy's purpose."
Turns out, Brandy Barbie isn't brand new. The brainchild of photographer/digital artist Tyren Redd, Barbie Brandy first landed on Instagram in October 2015, motivated by Redd's love for the Grammy Award-winning singer.
"She is someone who I consider a legend in the music industry and continues to be an amazing example of success to so many, not only in the African American community, but throughout the world," Redd said in an email.
"Taking that idea and creating a Instagram account with a doll that embodies that same energy, with love and empowerment in every post, I felt was needed in a world where there's not too much genuinely good things that are talked about or covered in mainstream media; this is my way of giving back and having fun in the process."