Model Mala Bryan Creates Line Of Natural Hair Dolls

Last month, women went crazy and products were ripped from the shelves as award winning director Ava Duvernay released her first doll in collection with Barbie. The Ava was so popular that it sold out literally in a matter of minutes. In 2016, it seems like little brown girls are blessed with even more opportunities to see themselves represented in their toys and games.

Model Mala Bryan, who was born in the beautiful Caribbean island of St. Lucia, has also released her own line of dolls. The collection, called Malaville Dolls, is a group of four dolls, each a different shade of brown and with their own distinct kinky* or curly hair. When asked, Bryan said that she was inspired to create these dolls after she realized there was severe lack in darker colored dolls as she collected toys for a toy drive.

Kids of all races can play with Malaville dolls, and they help to bring a positive representation (as well as the diversity) of ethnic women. The fun part? Each doll has her own personal instagram, where they can show off their hair, clothes, and personalities! The dolls’ names are Maisha, Mala, Malina and Mhina. A great thing about these dolls for their parents is that they only cost $20.

Not to date myself, but I was raised by a mother who grew up without any black dolls to play with when she was a child. I definitely understand the need to have that positive representation in our toys, because it really goes to shape who we are. The fact that the Malaville Dolls each have curly or kinky* hair is even better, and shows the progression of the widely growing natural hair movements. Now little girls can play with dolls that look just like them.

An initiative that took years to come to fruition, but it’s paying off for Maya Bryan, and for the little girls in all of us. We hope to see these dolls increase in popularity, and maybe we can get some hair tips from their Instagrams!

What do you think about the new Millville Dolls?