Common Sense Media Review
By Jinny Gudmundsen
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
A fun way for kids to play with fashion design.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 5+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 13 parent reviews
Based on 58 kid reviews
Kids say this video game offers a mix of fun and creativity, appealing to some young players with its engaging graphics and gameplay options, while others criticize it for inappropriate themes and aesthetics. Many parents express concerns about the sexualized imagery and suitability for young children, leading to divided opinions on its overall value.
- fun gameplay
- inappropriate themes
- creative design
- divided opinions
- suitability concerns
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's It About?
In BARBIE FASHION SHOW, players team up with Barbie to design outfits for 20 fashion collections including \"School Spirit\" and \"Barbie Bridal,\" and they choreograph fashion shows to display their creations. To create outfits, kids head to Barbie's Design Table to pick from over 70 clothing patterns including tops, bottoms, and dresses. and then create the clothing by choosing from over 240 different fabrics. When a collection is complete, players choose among Barbie and four of her friends to model the outfits. Next, budding fashion designers customize their own fashion shows by choosing the shape of the stage, the background, the runway textures, the stage decorations, the music, the lights, and the models' moves.
Is It Any Good?
Barbie's friends have different skin colors that hint at ethnicity, but the faces all resemble Barbie's so this attempt at diversity is lukewarm at best. Cleverly, the program doesn't give players all the patterns and fabric options in the beginning -- they are unlocked gradually during the first 10 assignments. An easy-to-use interface and special brushes allow kids to combine fabrics; 80 different decals add pizzazz. Kids can even try to share their creations by uploading them to www.Barbie.com, where Mattel will select some of the designs to post.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how the Barbie in this game is similar to and different from the doll. Families can also discuss the work that goes into designing a fashion show. When you design clothing for the show, are you thinking about whether these clothes could be worn in real life?
Game Details
- Platform : Windows
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Not available online
- Publisher : Vivendi Universal Games
- Release date : September 29, 2004
- Genre : Girl
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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