MoMA, Mattel debuts first art-inspired capsule collection

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and Mattel, Inc. have announced a multi-year global partnership aimed at connecting audiences with art through design and play.

As part of the collaboration, MoMA and Mattel Creations, the company’s direct-to-consumer, design-led platform, are launching a capsule collection of seven products inspired by works from MoMA’s collection. The collection will debut on 11 November on MoMA's website, MoMA Design Stores in New York and Japan, and through Mattel Creations.

Mattel will also sponsor MoMA’s Samuel and Ronnie Heyman Family Art Lab, an interactive space where visitors of all ages can experiment, create, and explore modern and contemporary art techniques.

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The capsule aims to engage a new generation with MoMA’s collection through play and design, while highlighting both institutions’ commitment to creative, design-focused experiences.

The MoMA and Mattel Creations capsule collection features a Barbie doll that celebrates Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night, with a gown patterned after the painting’s swirling skies, crescent moon details in her hair, and sculpted heels reflecting the landscape while Hot Wheels contributes two die-cast models, one of the aerodynamic 1960s Jaguar E-Type Roadster and another inspired by the iconic French Citroën DS 23 Sedan.

Meanwhile, the UNO Canvas x MoMA set marks the first-ever MoMA edition of the classic card game, featuring six masterpieces by Sonia Delaunay, Henri Matisse, Piet Mondrian, Claude Monet, Liubov Popova, and Vincent van Gogh. A redesigned Magic 8 Ball draws inspiration from Alma Woodsey Thomas’s Untitled and includes nine custom inspirational phrases.

In addition, collectors can also enjoy two Little People Collector sets: one surrealist-inspired set honoring Salvador Dalí, including a playful self-portrait and a piece inspired by The Persistence of Memory, and another featuring Claude Monet, with figures that place the artist within his own Water Lilies masterpiece.

“MoMA has long championed the transformative power of art and design as a catalyst for education and creativity,” said Jesse Goldstine, chief retail officer at MoMA.

“By joining forces with Mattel Creations, we are inviting a generation of new audiences to experience the Museum’s collection in ways that merge contemporary art with creative play and design innovation," Goldstine added.

Nick Karamanos, SVP of entertainment partnerships at Mattel, described the collaboration as “more than a product launch” and called it a “global design partnership” that translates iconic artworks into collectible, design-led experiences.

Mattel’s focus on cultural storytelling extends beyond art collaborations, as seen in its recent Monster High release. Earlier in March, the brand release Corazon Marikit, a doll inspired by the Filipino folklore creature the “manananggal.”

With a detachable upper body, embroidered bat wings, and a “terno”-inspired outfit, the figure blends mythology, fashion, and play, showcasing Mattel’s strategy of creating culturally resonant, collectible experiences.

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