“This is a big deal and a great honor for me to be chosen to participate in the Dream Gap campaign, and to be a role model for girls. This is a great and sweet acknowledgement.” –Kelly Sildaru
Congratulations to Estonian freestyle skier Kelly Sildaru who just unveiled her own signature Barbie. EER News reports The Kelly Barbie was created in the framework of the Dream Gap Project, a worldwide initiative launched in 2019 aimed at using positive role models to help foster young girls’ self-confidence. Sildaru said she was shocked the first time she saw her Barbie all kitted out in ski gear including her Faction Skis and Red Bull helmet:
“It’s uncanny to see myself in miniature form that doesn’t move or talk. The biggest similarity is that she has my exact ski gear — the same helmet, hair, face and of course skis. Mattel even took my partners into account; they used the original brands when making the doll, and even signed contracts with Faction, Red Bull and Roxy so they could use their logos on the Kelly doll.”
Tough news if you’re looking to purchase a Kelly Barbie as Barbie dolls created for the Dream Gap Project are one of a kind and are not available for sale. Here’s what Kelly had to say about the new doll in an IG post:
“I GOT MY OWN BARBIE!! It’s finally here! I got my own barbie! What?! I’m so honored to be chosen as a role model for younger girls and be immortalized as a Barbie doll. This is part of Barbie’s Dream Gap project, which aims to help girls build self-confidence through positive role models. Barbie has highlighted the boundary-breaking stories of more than 60 historical and modern-day role models from diverse backgrounds and fields to help inspire the next generation and I’m one of them🙉
It’s a really big honor! I hope that this doll will encourage little girls to dream big and to be anything.”
