Bratz Forever Diamondz 15th Anniversary: A Retrospective
Hey Angelz!
It’s that time of year again! As Bratz fans get caught up in the excitement of new Bratz releases as the brand celebrates its twentieth anniversary, we will always remember the iconic lines that came before. Just like our celebrations for Rock Angelz and Genie Magic, it has been fifteen years since the launch of the Bratz Forever Diamondz lineup. Forever Diamondz has had a significant impact on the Bratz brand as it followed in the steps of its other major predecessors while increasing its presence as the brand’s flagship line in Fall 2006. If you want to learn more about the impact Forever Diamondz has had on the Bratz brand and its fans, keep on reading!
THE DOLLS, SPINOFFS, AND PLAYSETS
The centerpiece of every major Bratz venture is its doll lineup. Taking notes from Rock Angelz and adding its own flair into the mix, Forever Diamondz took things a step further as the dolls extended into sublines, several of the brands’ spinoffs, and spawned some iconic playsets. The main line of dolls consists of the core four Bratz characters—Yasmin, Cloe, Sasha, and Jade—and their new friend, Sharidan. Each of the main dolls comes with a tank top with glitter lettering (featuring the words “Girly”, “Angel”, “Glam”, “Sugar”, and “Sassy”) in different color schemes (Yasmin and Sasha wore white and cream colors, Cloe and Jade wore black while Jade has a purple top variant, and Sharidan wore red), jeans with faux diamante accents, and shawls matching each character’s color scheme. Included with each Forever Diamondz doll is a piece of jewelry with a real diamond accent along with a certificate of authentication. The jewelry pieces included with the Forever Diamondz dolls are rings, necklaces, and bracelets with Bratz-themed pendants like a Bratz logo “B”, an irregular-shaped star, or lip-shaped charm, for example; none of the characters came with a specific piece of jewelry as the pieces were randomly packaged with each doll. Each doll has a packaging variant; one with a “flatter” diamond shape and gold color scheme, and the other with a “bulkier” diamond shape and red color scheme with a separate display for the piece of jewelry. Each package comes with a handle adorned with a keychain featuring faux diamonds and a Bratz logo “B” charm (one of mine is attached to my keys currently, it is such a cute piece). Each doll also comes with a poster, accessory bag, and a pair of bare feet, which were high in demand at the time of Forever Diamondz’s release.
What some Bratz fans may not know is that Forever Diamondz marked the beginning of the brand’s “cookie-cutter” era, meaning that the fashions in most collections were no longer individualized and rather shared amongst each character in different color schemes. While Forever Diamondz remains one of the only 2006 collections to truly utilize the cookie-cutter formula, it is a concept that would become prominent in the brand’s collections throughout most of 2007 and Spring 2008. The Forever Diamondz collection originally had a much different concept, with each of the characters coming with different fashions fitting the Diamondz theme. The dolls’ original outfits can be seen in the sizzle reel for the collection’s original name, “Bratz Passion 4 Fashion Diamondz”, which was uploaded earlier this year.
The dolls did not stop with the main collection! Each of the five main characters were released as Funky Fashion Makeover styling torsos, with Sharidan having an additional FFM release with additional “4you” jewelry and a shawl. One of the more sought-after dolls in the Forever Diamondz line comes in the form of a subline subtitled “Fashion Design Set”. The core three dolls of the Forever Diamondz Fashion Design Set collection—Fianna, Katia, and Vinessa—each come with peplum tops in different colors schemes and a pair of jeans with faux-diamante accents on the hems, along with a second outfit featuring a plain t-shirt similar to those released with the main dolls and a denim mini skirt. Each Fashion Design Set doll also comes with a purse made of the same fabric as the peplum tops and sticker sheets to decorate the clothing with. Just like the main dolls, the Fashion Design Set dolls come with an additional pair of bare feet. Yasmin and Cloe were also included in the Fashion Design Set line as part of two-pack Sam’s Club exclusives with Babyz counterparts. Fashion Design Set Cloe comes with Katia’s first and second outfits, while Yasmin is practically a clone of Fianna but with brown eyes and an added beauty mark. Another Yasmin, a recycled Wild Life Safari Yasmin wearing Katia’s first outfit, was released as an exclusive to U.K. retailer Tesco; this doll did not have an additional outfit or sticker sheets, but rather “4you” jewelry pieces that could be worn by the consumer.
Following in the steps of Rock Angelz and Genie Magic, the Forever Diamondz collection extended into the brand’s spinoffs. As mentioned previously, the Sam’s Club exclusive Fashion Design Set Cloe and Yasmin were packaged with Babyz counterparts. The Babyz Forever Diamondz Cloe and Yasmin dolls wear scaled-down replicas of the main Forever Diamondz Cloe and Yasmin dolls. An additional Babyz Forever Diamondz Cloe was released, which was a recycled Babyz Hair Flair Cloe wearing a scaled-down Forever Diamondz Cloe outfit and came with a mini DVD featuring sneak peeks of the Bratz Babyz The Movie and Bratz Passion 4 Fashion Diamondz films. The single-release Babyz Forever Diamondz Cloe is a doll I admire because she was one of the first Bratz dolls my mother bought me right before Christmas 2006 because she was more affordable than the others; my aunt would eventually buy me Forever Diamondz Sharidan that Christmas, making these dolls super nostalgic for me. I would play the mini sneak peek DVD on a loop because I had not owned any Bratz movies on DVD at that point. Alongside the single-release Babyz Cloe, a Big Babyz Forever Diamondz Sharidan was released with a sneak peek DVD and scaled-up replica of Forever Diamondz Sharidan’s outfit. Two versions of Big Babyz Forever Diamondz Sharidan exist; one with the shawl and DVD, and one without either. A Babyz Forever Diamondz fashion pack featuring a scaled-down replica of Forever Diamondz Sasha’s outfit was released in 2007. Along with the Babyz Forever Diamondz dolls were the Kidz Forever Diamondz dolls, also featuring Cloe and Yasmin in scaled-down versions of their main line counterpart’s fashions. The Bratz Kidz line was introduced in Fall 2006, making the Forever Diamondz line one of their first lines that season aside from their introductory collection. The Kidz Forever Diamondz dolls also come with second outfits reminiscent of the second outfits included with the Fashion Design Set dolls, along with a piece of jewelry in the same vein as the main collection.
Bratz Forever Diamondz Rollin’ Runway Commercial
Forever Diamondz was one of the first flagship collections to include as many dolls as it did, which left room for a lot of playsets to be added to the lineup. Some of the main collection dolls came packaged in a 3-in-1 Jewelry Pack that included a doll, a pack of 4you jewelry, and a themed jewelry box. Similarly, a Fashion Design Kit including five plain t-shirts, jewels, glitter, applicators, and storage box reminiscent of Sharidan’s kit from the Passion 4 Fashion Diamondz film was released; I was lucky enough to buy this set for one dollar off eBay a few years ago, and it has since become a sought-after set for some Bratz collectors. Some of the Forever Diamondz playsets were just recolored versions of older playsets, like the Tour Bus, Limo, and Plane. Two of the playsets featured in the Forever Diamondz collection, the RC Classic FM Cruiser and Fashion Show On The Go/Rollin’ Runway, served as integral components of the Passion 4 Fashion Diamondz film. The Cruiser is modeled after the car that Sharidan’s mother loans the girlz when their truck gets stolen, and the Rollin’ Runway set is the main truck that the girlz drive across the country that doubles as a runway stage for on-the-go fashion shows. The Rollin’ Runway set would go on to join other iconic Bratz playsets like the Flashback Fever Retro-Ride Van, Stylin’ Salon ‘N’ Spa, and Rock Angelz Party Plane to be reproduced with new color schemes season after season. The Rollin’ Runway is a personal favorite playset of mine that I finally purchased off Facebook Marketplace earlier this year; it plays a snippet of the Bratz song “You’ve Got It” and has options to plug in an MP3 player or use an FM radio to play songs! Mine is currently on display with all of my Forever Diamondz dolls walkin’ the runway on it.
THE FILM
Something that will always confuse me, and probably other Bratz fans, is that the movie tie-in to Forever Diamondz is titled Passion 4 Fashion Diamondz. Maybe the title was Passion 4 Fashion Diamondz because that was the original name of the collection, or perhaps because it was the fourth Bratz film featuring the girlz as teens so there was an emphasis on the 4. Titles aside, Bratz Passion 4 Fashion Diamondz probably ranks as one of the most talked-about Bratz movies from its drama to the memes it has inspired. In my opinion, it is one of the best Bratz films for many reasons, including its plot that sees the Bratz (and their competitors at Your Thing Magazine) leaving Stilesville to go on a cross-country road trip to seek out America’s next teen fashion designer as part of the reality competition series America Rocks Fashion. Throughout the film, the Bratz run into mishaps and adventure as they deal with the theatrics put on by television host Byron Powell and the conniving acts done by villainous contestant Mandy Pickett. Passion 4 Fashion Diamondz is the final Bratz film to be distributed by 20th Century Fox and features the all-star voice cast from Rock Angelz, Genie Magic, and the first season of the Bratz television series. The cast is comprised of main players Tia Mowry (Sasha), Dionne Quan (Yasmin), Olivia Hack (Cloe), Soleil Moon Frye (Jade), Lacey Chabert (Kaycee), Kaley Cuoco (Kirstee), and Wendie Malick (Burdine), who are joined by Cree Summer (who previously played Aloncé in the Bratz television series and Zell in Genie Magic) as Mandy and Jessica DiCicco (who previously played Roxxi and Fianna in the Rock Angelz film and video game and the Bratz television series) as Sharidan. The film was released on DVD on September 26, 2006 and was shown on Nickelodeon in the United States, though I am unsure if it premiered on the network or was shown after its DVD release.
Bratz Passion 4 Fashion Diamondz Promotional Trailer
Something I enjoy about Passion 4 Fashion Diamondz is that it takes the Bratz out of Stilesville while remaining true to the origin story established in Rock Angelz. The films following Passion 4 Fashion Diamondz make no mention of Bratz Magazine or any of the universe established in the earlier films or television series, aside from the city of Stilesville and some characters of course. Interestingly enough, this is also the last film to feature Byron and Burdine as main characters; after this, the Tweevils only appear in Girlz Really Rock and the characters from Your Thing Magazine only remain integral to the television series and some of the video games. Perhaps the shift from how often these characters appeared in future media was a blessing in disguise as it allowed the brand’s future films to explore other locations and characters, but we can get into that in future anniversaries! I recall Passion 4 Fashion Diamondz having a strong marketing effort when I was a kid. One memory I vaguely remember is being in elementary school and bookmarks promoting the film being given out in the library; there was also a bookmark for a different movie targeted toward a male demographic too, which is likely what I ended up with as the school was strict with keeping everything gendered at the time. I can find no information on this bookmark despite my several attempts to search for it over the years, so it may just remain as one of those obscure Bratz items that will remain “lost” indefinitely.
THE ALBUM
Bratz - Diamondz (from the “Limited Edition” version of the Forever Diamondz album)
The Forever Diamondz album is, hands down, one of the best Bratz albums to exist. Rock Angelz came in strong as a major musical effort from a toy brand, with Genie Magic being a great follow-up composed mostly of leftover songs from its predecessor and tracks from the television series. Forever Diamondz, however, has a fresh sound from start to finish (aside from “My Attitude”, but it still fits in pretty well). Just like Rock Angelz and Genie Magic, Forever Diamondz was headed by hitmaker Matthew Gerrard. Featuring vocals from Lauren Evans and Elizabeth Ashley Saunig, Forever Diamondz features fourteen main tracks: “Ooooh Fashion” (an absolute banger and cover/reimagining of David Bowie’s 1980 song “Fashion”), “Wazz Up”, “Keep It Up”, “What’s Goin’ On”, “Best Friends”, “My Attitude”, “Express Yourself”, “You’ve Got It”, “Just Having Some Fun”, “Let Go”, “Hang On”, “Forever Diamondz”, “Beautiful” (a cover of Christina Aguilera’s 2002 song of the same name), and “Que Tal”. A special edition version of the album features bonus tracks “Unwritten” (a cover of Natasha Bedingfield’s 2004 song of the same name) and “Diamond Girls”. More recently, a limited edition version of the album was uncovered featuring bonus tracks “Hollaback Girl” (a cover of Gwen Stefani’s 2004 song of the same name) and “Diamondz” (which has become incredibly popular since this version of the album was discovered). A collector’s edition of the album came packaged with an exclusive bangle featuring a Bratz logo and musical note charms. Forever Diamondz would go on to chart at #6 on the Billboard Kid Albums Chart and is often regarded as one of the brand’s best albums to date.
THE VIDEO GAME
Following up the Rock Angelz video game is Forever Diamondz, which takes many of the elements established in the former while expanding on its universe. The Forever Diamondz video game allows players to play as each of the core four Bratz girls as they complete tasks for three issues of Bratz Magazine, shop the hottest clothing collections, and travel around the world in search of a hot young fashion designer. The video game follows some elements of the film, but differs greatly the same way that Rock Angelz does in order to fit a gameplay narrative. New locations added in Forever Diamondz are Miami and New York City, and the game features appearances from other Bratz characters like Roxxi, Fianna, Phoebe, Siernna, Vinessa, Katia, Kumi, Cameron, Dylan, Eitan, Koby, Cade, and Bryce. I finally had the chance to play Forever Diamondz earlier last year when I set up my old GameCube console after nearly fifteen years. I absolutely love the Forever Diamondz game and the other Bratz games that follow the same format. Getting to explore Stilesville and live a virtual Bratz lifestyle is so much fun, which is probably why the Bratz games continue to receive so much praise. Bratz fans have gotten a taste of new game content with the release of Total Fashion Makeover back in April of this year, but nothing hits quite the same as the original games. Not to mention, many of the GameCube and PS2 versions came with bonus fashion packs (which can be seen here) while some PS2 versions came with a bonus Bratz-themed Top Trumps card. Bratz fans really had it all back in 2006!
Bratz Forever Diamondz on the cover of The Hollywood Reporter in June 2006.
THE LIFESTYLE PRODUCTS
Every flagship Bratz collection has a myriad of lifestyle products to accompany it and Forever Diamondz was no exception. The Forever Diamondz collection was supported by apparel, cosmetics, home decor, electronics, books, magazines, sports equipment, and school supplies. Forever Diamondz marked the introduction of the brand’s “4you” line, which included costume pieces that replicated the doll’s clothing and accessories. Everyone could live their Forever Diamondz fantasy in 2006 with the amount of lifestyle products MGA produced to support the line, further proving the brand’s power as a lifestyle brand.
IN RETROSPECT...
Forever Diamondz is one of the most important flagship collections in the Bratz brand. Though it is criticized for kickstarting the era of cookie-cutter fashions in the brand’s doll lines and often referred to as a lesser version of competitor My Scene’s “My Bling Bling” line, it continues to be celebrated in and out of the Bratz community because, despite the criticism, it still produced a strong collection of dolls and tie-ins. Lest we forget, Forever Diamondz was one of the peaks of the brand as Bratz became the number-one fashion doll by the fourth quarter of 2006. Iconic! Not only that, but I am sure this collection holds a lot of nostalgia for both diehard and casual Bratz fans. This collection reminds me of a big shift in my life as my mother and I moved to a new city, and I had a difficult time adjusting to going to a new school and making friends. Having Babyz Forever Diamondz Cloe as one of my first Bratz dolls reminds me of a time where I was lonely and sought out my dolls as a form of escapism from everything I was dealing with at the time. Passion 4 Fashion Diamondz is also one of my comfort movies and I cannot even begin to explain the chills I get every time I listen to “Let Go”.
Thank you to Melissa Boock for designing the Forever Diamondz range! Your work has lived in the hearts of Bratz fans for fifteen years now and we cannot thank you enough for providing us with Forever Diamondz.
If you are interested in learning about all of the Forever Diamondz products and media mentioned in this retrospective, check out the Bratz 2006, Bratz Babyz 2006 Dolls, Bratz Babyz 2007 Fashion Packs, and Bratz Kidz 2006 Dolls database pages, as well as the Forever Diamondz pages in the Media Profiles section of Stilesville Central!
Thank you so much for reading this retrospective of the Forever Diamondz line! Make sure to check out Lookin’ Bratz on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok and stay tuned for more Forever Diamondz content throughout the week!
xoxo
P.S. I will be updating the Database soon with hundreds of new products! I have been incredibly busy over the past few months, but I promise I will get to work on it soon. Stay tuned!