Zendaya stands proud as she launches her own Barbie doll with Oscars-inspired dreadlock hairstyle

'Times have changed': Zendaya stands proud as she launches her own Barbie doll with THAT Oscars-inspired dreadlock hairstyle

By DAILYMAIL.COM REPORTER

PUBLISHED: 03:44, 27 September 2015 | UPDATED: 08:42, 27 September 2015

She was criticised by former E! News anchor Guiliana Rancic for wearing her hair in dreadlocks as she attended the 2015 Oscars in February.

But Zendaya Coleman has clearly come out on top, as the same look has now become a fixation of beauty for her new one-of-a-kind Barbie doll.

The 19-year-old received her Oscars-inspired doll at the Barbie Rock 'N Royals Concert Experience in Los Angeles on Saturday.

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What an honour! Zendaya Coleman received her very own Barbie doll as she attended the Barbie Rock 'N Royals Concert at the Hollywood Palladiul in Hollywood, California on Saturday

The Shake It Up! star looked lovely while accentuating her lean physique in a lip-printed red and white MSGM dress.

The strapless mini was fitted on top and belled on the bottom.

Zendaya paired her dress with red pumps and wore a crimson palette of make-up to match.

So excited! The former Disney darling appeared thrilled as she posed with her doll

Trendy: The star wore a lips-printed dress and slung a matching jacket over her shoulders 

The K.C. Undercover star was thrilled for the fete, taking to Instagram to share her excitement.

'When I was little I couldn't find a Barbie that looked like me, my...how times have changed. Thank you @barbie for this honor and for allowing me to be apart of your diversification and expansion of the definition of beauty,' she wrote with a side-by-side comparison of her Barbie and Oscar look.

'Can't wait to keep doing amazing things with you #besuper @luxurylaw @theshelbyswain.'

Immortalized: The Barbie captured the actress' look from the 2015 Oscars 

Sitting down with the Galore Magazine for part of its Generation Bombshell series, the former Disney star spoke about why she decided to stand up for herself after Giuliana Rancic made the now-infamous racist comments about her deadlocked hair at the Academy Awards.

The then Fashion Police said the actress probably 'smells like patchouli oil ... or weed' while criticizing her red carpet look.

Taking the high road, but not backing down, Zendaya said at the time that there is 'a fine line between what is funny and what is disrespectful' and branded the comments 'outrageously offensive.'

That's me! Zendaya smiled in front of a promotional picture

Different look: Zendaya chose to wear her hair in long voluminous curls 

'My wearing my hair in locs on an Oscar red carpet was to showcase them in a positive light, to remind people of colour that our hair is good enough.'

The star told Galore that her parents, Claire Stoermer and Kazembe Ajamu, had always taught her that her voice mattered.

On being opinionated, she said: 'I think it’s all just how I was raised. My parents are both educators and the way they raised me was to always be aware of what’s going on in my business as well as in my personal life.

Special: The star received a special note from the Barbie team

Double take: Zendaya shared a close-up glimpse of her Barbie doll's dreadlocks via Instagram on Saturday

'My parents never really sheltered me from anything. They were always very open with me, which is probably why I’m able to be real.'

So, when Giuliana made those memorable remarks, the star said she first processed her feelings then used her voice to speak both for herself and others.

'I could have clapped back and gone off. Of course I wanted to, everyone wants to do that. I just kept thinking there were other young people dealing with the same kind of issue who were watching me to see how I would respond.

Dynamic duo: Zendaya performed onstage with Austin Mahone at the Barbie Rock n' Royals concert at the Hollywood Palladium 

Animated: Zendaya swayed to the music as Austin pointed toward the ceiling 

A good cause: The concert benefited the VH1 Save The Music Foundation, which is dedicated to saving music education 

Supportive: Austin Mahone, left, and Alyssa Bernal, right, were among stars to attend the event

'I think the way we react to things is a big indicator of our character and what type of person we are. I just had too much respect for myself and didn’t want to prove everybody right that’s waiting for me to be ignorant and do something dumb, so I took my time until I thought of the best way I could address the comments.'

The starlet wants to inspire teens everywhere to know that they can have a say.

'I realized that if I don’t like something, I can change it. If I don’t feel comfortable with something, then I have a voice to say it’s not cool.'

The View calls out Giuliana Rancic for her Zendaya comments

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Celebrating diversity: Zendeya wore her hair in dreadlocks to the Oscars in February to 'remind people of colour that our hair is good enough'

Ill informed words: Giuliana joked on Fashion Police that Zendaya appeared like she would smell of marijuana and her comments later led to co-host  Kelly Osbourne quitting in protest 

Read more:

• Zendaya, An Unlikely Disney Star, Owns Her Opinions & Shuts Down Racist Comments | Galore

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3250605/Zendaya-stands-proud-launches-Barbie-doll-Oscars-inspired-dreadlock-hairstyle.html#ixzz3mxyyrYMh
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• CULTURE
• ART & DESIGN
• TAOFICK OKOYA
• QUEENS OF AFRICA

TAOFICK OKOYA'S 'QUEENS OF AFRICA' DOLLS ARE TAKING ON BARBIE

Okoya couldn't find a doll that looked like his niece, so he decided to do something about it. Now his dolls are outselling Barbie.  

Queens of Africa, the black doll line that's outselling Barbie in Nigeria, started as a personal mission seven years ago. Taofick Okoya was frustrated that he couldn't find a black doll on the market for his niece. "I happen to be the kind of person that doesn't enjoy complaining and criticizing without taking any action," the 43-year-old businessman tells ELLE.com. So he researched making a doll that Nigerian girls could identify with: one with their skin color and traditional African fashion. 

"It became a frontline project for me due to the resistance the dolls received because of their color and outfits from most children and distributors," he explains. "I spent about two years campaigning on the importance and benefits of dolls in the African likeness. During that process, I realized greater social issues such as low self esteem, which led to the passion to make a change in the coming generation. It's been a tough journey but one I have enjoyed."

Okoya created two lines of dolls, Queens of Africa (which come with three outfits, four accessories, and cost 1,300 to 3,500 naira, or $6.75 to $18.18) and Naija Princesses (which come with two outfits, two accessories, and cost 500-1,000 naira, or $2.60 to $5.19). Each doll represents a different African tribe (Igbo, Yoruba, and Hausa).

Okoya sells 6,000 to 9,000 dolls a month, Reuters reports—10 to 15 percent of Nigeria's small but growing toy market, by Okoya's estimation. The dolls have quite a few fans. Okoya shares one's testimony: "Usually the black dolls are so dark, I don't buy them because they look nothing like me. I think that if they had maybe a better variety of black dolls with different colors like yours, that would be a lot better. No two black people are the same color: Some have darker and some have lighter pigments. Like many other African Americans, I have never found a doll that really fits me 'till now." 

And the dolls' Facebook page consistently gets new comments. "You can be sure my future daughter will be playing with those," one wrote on it. "Thank you for your hard work and keep on doing it, you are helping our girls in being more confident and proud of themselves."

COURTESY OF TAOFICKO OKOYA

ONE OF THE LINE'S MANY FANS WHOSE PARENTS WROTE OKOYA.

Queens of Africa's reach is global thanks to the web, where Okoya accepts online orders for the dolls. He says after Nigeria, the greatest demand is from America, Brazil, Europe, the Ivory Coast, and South Africa. But despite this, he doesn't feel the brand has made it yet. It won't "until it reaches every child of African decent all over the world and is a symbol of pride by making them appreciate who they are as an African." 

ELLE.com talked with Okoya about the evolution of the line, the importance of its message to little girls (including his own), and how it's changing the toy industry.

THE POWER OF TOYS AND PLAY TOOLS CANNOT BE UNDERESTIMATED.

How do you feel about the dolls outselling Barbie? I don't believe Mattel sees the Nigerian market as a priority, yet their product has great influence on the psyche of the children here and affirms certain values contrary to our society. My mission is to make the Queens of Africa [what Barbie isn't to Africans] a symbol of hope, trust, and confidence by promoting African history, culture, and fashion. 

The dolls are meant to "subconsciously promote African heritage," according to your mission statement. Why is this message so important? I have a daughter, Azeezah, whom I named one of the dolls after. As her father, I wanted the best for her and to teach her to become a confident, responsible adult. I quickly realized that my direct influence on her development was about 40 percent and the remaining 60 percent was from her surroundings, i.e., her toys, TV, friends, etc. [These] were mostly subliminal and had a longer lasting impact on her [that] was somewhat out of my control. Even though we live in Nigeria, there was a lot of Western influence, which might have been responsible for her wishing she was white. It made me aware that I needed to make her proud and happy being a black African girl, and not limit it to her alone as this was a common trend amongst the younger generation. The Queens of Africa became a platform to achieve this. 

COURTESY OF TAOFICKO OKOYA

There are other toys out there like Lammily and GoldieBlox that aim to send a healthier messages about body image and career aspirations to little girls. How does Queens of Africa add to that dialogue? The power of toys and play tools cannot be underestimated. It could be a greater influencer than we realize. I have had to tweak the looks of the dolls to get acceptance as we needed the sales to sustain the project. As our sales and acceptance grow, we are becoming more confident, and this will reflect in our next and subsequent collection. 

THE RESPONSIBILITY TO REPRESENT AFRICA IN A DOLL IS NOT AN EASY TASK.

Right. You told Reuters to start, you have to sell slim dolls and hope to make larger-bodied ones once the brand is built.  But does this make you feel like you're sending a harmful message in any way? What is really frustrating is the generalization that Africans all have to look a certain way or be a certain color. That is stereotyping. There are slim Africans, plus-size Africans, dark Africans, fair skinned Africans, flat-nose Africans, and pointed-nose Africans. We will do our best to represent as much of the diversity of Africans but surely not all at once. Some people have critiqued us quite harshly from an ignorant standpoint, forgetting we are relatively quite young. The responsibility to represent Africa in a doll or product is not an easy task. Our diversity is one of our greatest attributes. 

Where do you hope to take the line next?
I am looking to go global! We are hoping to release songs with positive lyrics, a TV series with encouraging storylines, and [to] get the dolls on all major shelves around the world! I have been told that our products will not make mainline stores in the States as it will be seen as a specialist product. As such, [it] will be limited to specialist stores in certain areas. I am looking to prove them wrong.