The Barbie doll is evolving.

The iconic toy has undergone its most drastic revamp since its debut more than 50 years ago.

Mattel introduced Barbie dolls with three new body types – curvy, tall and petite –as part of its 2016 "Fashionistas" line on Thursday. The new line includes dolls that come in seven skin tones, 22 eyes colours and 24 hairstyles. Even a blue-haired Barbie is among the new squad.

The "original" Barbie, known for her tiny proportions and long blonde hair, also remains available.

In a video posted on Barbie's website, the change is described as "radical."

"This is radical because we're saying there isn't this narrow standard of what a beautiful body looks like," Mattel's senior design director Robert Best says in the video. "This is what the world looks like."

After decades of criticism over Barbie's anatomically impossible figure, Mattel said the revamped dolls are intended to celebrate differences.

"We have to let girls know it doesn't matter what you shape you come in, that anything is possible," Tania Missad, directorof consumer insights, says in the video.

Much of the reaction to the new dolls on social media has been positive.

 

Meanwhile, actor and Jenny Craig spokesperson Kirstie Alley, who had made her own weight struggles very public, was more critical of Barbie's new look.

 

Dolls with the new bodies are available for preorder at shop.mattel.com, and will ship in February. They will hit start to show up on U.S. store shelves in March and roll in the rest of the world after that, Mattel Inc. said.

Sales of Barbie dolls have been sliding over recent years, as more girls turn their attention to tablets and other toys. Barbie sales fell four per cent from the previous year in the most recent quarter for Mattel.