IT ALL STARTED WHEN…

In 1998, artist Carter Bryant sought to create a fashion doll relevant to what teenagers found trendy after seeing a group of teenagers leaving Kickapoo High School in Springfield, Missouri while driving home. The following is a quote about Bryant’s inspiration for Bratz, featured in Orly Lobel’s 2017 book You Don’t Own Me:

Carter, energized by his serendipitous encounter with the bubbly high school kids of Kickapoo, came home and began feverishly sketching a group of girlfriends. He gave them personalities: they were popular and hip, but neither fancy or stuck up. They had attitude and self-confidence. They were fearless and strong. Carter drew their hands on their hips to convey “just a bit of defiance,” as he jotted down to himself. He drew a Hispanic girl and named her Lupe. Next came to life an African American girl, Hallidae, and Carter scribbled after her name, “plays drums and spins the turntable, studies French, acting, political science.” Jade was Carter’s Asian girl, who he sketched skinnier than her friends. She had attitude but was also “fun and kooky.” Carter dreamed of Jade “playing bass and studying classical violin and child psychology.” Zoe, the leader of the pack, was a bit sweeter, softer. The magic in Carter’s creation was that he made the girls edgy and smart. When he sketched his angels he was in the zone… Carter sketched the foundation of his universe, and in the end he wrote about: “Meet the Bratz: They are the cool girls from your school.”

Over the next few weeks, Carter continued to breathe life into his four girls. He gave them nicknames: “Meet Zoe aka Angel”; “Meet Lupe aka Princess”; “Meet Hallidae aka Hip-Hop”; “Meet Jade aka “Li’l Star.”

Bryant’s initial concept for Bratz was shelved when he could not find an investor for his new doll line; that is, until he pitched the idea to MGA Entertainment CEO Isaac Larian in 2000. Larian passed on the idea until his daughter Jasmin Larian, only twelve years-old at the time, saw its potential.

There was nothing diverse on the market at that time… A designer [Bryant] came to my dad with some drawings [of Bratz dolls]. I was in the meeting, and I was obsessed with them. My dad thought they looked like aliens. He was like, “Why do they have such big heads and feet that come off?” but I was like, “These are so cool! I need these!” And so, that’s it. He made them.

-A quote from Jasmin Larian in You Don’t Own Me.

The Bratz later became Cloe (Angel), Yasmin (Pretty Princess), Sasha (Bunny Boo), and Jade (Kool Kat). Bratz—the Girls with a Passion for Fashion—officially hit store shelves on May 21, 2001. The success of Bratz did not come until the 2001 holiday shopping season. Bratz soon became an international hit and extended into a lifestyle brand alongside its doll line. Bratz became a cultural phenomenon, extending its influence in pop culture through lifestyle products, films, television shows, video games, books, magazines, live concerts, and much more. MGAE produced a string of Bratz spinoffs over the next few years, including Bratz Boyz (2002), Lil’ Bratz (2002; also known as Micro Bratz), Lil’ Bratz Boyz (2003), Bratz Petz (2004), Bratz Babyz (2004), Bratz Ponyz (2005), Itsy Bitsy Bratz (2006; later renamed Bratz Itsy Bitsy that same year), Bratz Kidz (2006; later renamed 4-Ever Kidz in 2009), and Bratz Lil’ Angelz (2007; later renamed 4-Ever Lil’ Angelz in 2009).

In 2008, the ownership of the Bratz brand was set to be transferred to MGAE’s competitor Mattel after years of legal battles over which company owned the brand. MGAE produced Bratz through Fall 2009 before making a comeback in Fall 2010 for the brand’s tenth anniversary. A witch-themed spinoff of the brand, Bratzillaz (later suffixed with the name “House of Witchez” in 2013), debuted in 2012. The Bratz brand took a hiatus in 2013, then relaunched in 2015. The mixed reception to the brand’s new identity led MGAE to put another hiatus on the brand in 2016. A collector line of Bratz dolls designed by Hayden Williams was produced in 2018, which would be the last time Bratz dolls were produced in the 2010s.

Under the direction of Jasmin, the Bratz brand made a comeback in 2020 in the form of apparel collections. This was followed by reproductions of its debut doll line in 2021 to commemorate the brand’s twentieth anniversary. Since then, the brand has consistently produced reproductions of its most iconic collections, designer collaborations, celebrity collaborations, and collector dolls. The Bratz saw its first new spinoff in ten years with the introduction of Mini Bratz in 2022, which are miniature versions of Bratz dolls, playsets, and accessories. In 2024, Bratz would reintroduce its Bratz Babyz spinoff as well as debut brand-new playline dolls starting with the Alwayz Bratz collection.