But the transition from full-size clothing to, well, Barbie-size, isn’t as simple as just scaling down catwalk creations. “Barbie’s clothes have to be relatively easy to change, and almost everything closes at the back,” Best says, explaining that functionality is the most important component when it comes to designing her clothing. “Size also impacts decisions around the kind of fabrics and details that work on such a small scale.”And with the toy manufacturing process being even more aggressive than the fashion calendar, Best says he and the remainder of Barbie's "glam squad" are "already thinking about 2018 designs, while most fashion designers only work six months ahead."Though their production schedules may differ, the design floor at Mattel HQ closely resembles that of a studio and the showroom of a fashion house. Cubicles look like 3-D Pinterest boards: smothered in Vogue cuts, pictures of Katy Perry from Entertainment Weekly, and fabric swatches. “Barbie dresses in the clothes that young girls are seeing on women they look up to, whether it's celebrities like Taylor Swift, or bloggers, or Instagram stars,” he says. “As designers, we’ll put together trend boards, pulling references from the internet and from fashion magazines like Vogue, to celebrity titles like Hollywood Reporter, People, and Variety.”On top of trend forecasters like WGSN , Mattel’s Barbie division has its own dedicated "consumer insights" department, though Best points out that Barbie's role isn't to be a trendsetter — it's to be a reflection of the items people are actually wearing on the streets.“Barbie has always been a mirror of social and fashion trends, a constant reflection of the times,” he says, pointing to a row of vintage dolls. He notes that their fashions and hair reflect of-the-moment styles so accurately, it’s easy to immediately decipher which decade the doll is from. “It’s not Barbie’s job to occupy the 'edge’ of a trend; ideally, we want her comfortably in the middle, in that sweet spot where a design is most accessible and appropriate for kids and relevant to the widest possible range of consumer. I’m thinking about everyone, from a dad in the Midwest to a collector or a fan in Europe or Asia. It’s terrifying when you think about the sheer breadth of taste levels and exposure a single design will have.”